Inner Demons
by kimicatdemon
Summary: After finding out how to keep his own inner demons at bay, Phantom is confronted by an old friend with an even bigger problem than he would have ever thought...
1. Chapter 1

Phantom took a sigh. He walked aboard his ship again, having nothing to do beyond training again, and trying to do anything to dodge it by all means, again.

"Sir, I may suggest you take training a bit more seriously." Gaston spoke in his usual tone. He would easily follow Phantom around, stating the blunt and obvious truth to him, despite his constant ignorance over the matter.

"Oh don't be silly, Gaston!" Phantom whirled his hand, "I've already trained my way up before, and I am fairly comfortable where I am!" he lied. Truth was, he would never be "happy" where he was until he was back where he was before being cursed. Who had ever heard of such a weak master thief?

"Sir, I can tell you are lying and I insist that you train once more." Gaston sighed.

"Now nooow, I'll train later!" Phantom remarked. "It's not like anything could come my way and I would be helpless! I've good skills to back me up now!"

Gaston sighed and stepped down from trying. "Very well sir… I will let it slide for today, however, do expect some rather challenging training tomorrow."

Phantom giggled as Gaston walked off. SUCCESS! He wouldn't have to train at all today! So he would just have to sit back, relax and enjoy the view of the moon and everything else. Not a bad day in his opinion!

He walked into his room and laid on his bed. "Ahh! What good luck I am having today!" He stretched out. "…Although, Gaston probably is right. Ahh, I'll just train later." He decided.

He sat alone on his bed, thinking about all the training he had done up until that point. He thought of walking around Edelstein as one of the Black Wing memebers… he thought of fighting those whom were unfortunate enough to be controlled by Lotus… and then he thought about that moment.

That moment was something terrifying. What could have happened… What would have happened… It could have easily been avoided, yes, but at the same time, he wondered if it had been any good that way.

Up until that moment, Phantom had been living a wonderful lie as usual. Not a lie that he was still a powerful master thief, but a darker lie. The lie where he claimed he was a "hero" and held the job of doing what was best for the world. No, he wasn't like that. His whole reason for becoming a hero had been for her. His reason for fighting with the black mage was for her. The very reason he stepped out from the shadows and into a spot that had him known to all...something that ruined his prized reputation… it had all been for her.

He found it funny how much he threw aside for one person. Before Aria, he always felt it was foolish to trust another person. To trust someone was to lay your hand out in front of them and ask them to chop it off. He wasn't that stupid… But then… what was he to do when the other had no intention of hurting him?

Aria was the first to give him this feeling. Around her, he felt safe enough to not only let her see his face, but see a rather human side to the legendary "Phantom". Then… she was taken. Just like that. He had no control over the situation. It simply happened. For once in his life, he knew what it was like to be powerless. To be helpless and lost. It wasn't hurt that hurt him. She would have never wanted him hurt. Someone crawled up from behind and hurt her instead. He recalled wondering why he was in pain when someone else was hurt. After all, they didn't touch him and he had Skyia now, right? He got what he wanted, and as a thief, his job was done.

But he didn't accept it. He couldn't. He recalled trying to find a way to join in the fight against the Black Mage. He couldn't walk up to just anyone and apply to join. No one would believe him. He had too much of a reputation. The very thing he worked so hard to build worked against him this instant, and that was all he had! He wanted to help, but not a soul would give him a chance…

It all changed while he looked for information one day. As a thief, he knew the value of information, but he never expected to hear a treasure as golden as what he did find.

"Over in Minar, there is a mage that can connect with dragons!" One man cried.

"Dragons? What the hell is a man going to do with those vicious monsters?" the man replied.

"I don't know, but apparently he was able to connect with them in a way to borrow their powers! A human with dragon powers!"

"Well I'd have to see that to believe it!" The second man laughed out.

Phantom thought for a moment. If dragons were considered monsters by man, but another man gave them a chance to prove themselves, resulting in a peaceful bond between the two, could he… would he be able to listen to Phantom?

Phantom gave it a shot. He was never a big talker when it came to serious discussion, and luckily, he didn't have to be. The mage was wise enough to pick up on his reasoning and desires with a simple image. He welcomed him in to the team personally, and then managed to get the others to accept him all the same.

It made Phantom feel very… odd. A few months ago, he didn't trust a soul. Now, he stood in a group of others that were trying to defend their world from a terror.

But he wasn't like them… he was different. Everything that led him there still clawed at him. Anger, sadness, guilt, rage… It was like a demon clawing at him from the inside, comforting his doubts and concerns.

When he woke up, he felt free from it. All the emotions from before had dimmed into a smoldering glow that was easily ignored.

But like any glow, it could go out or flicker into an uncontrollable flame.

The closer he got to Lotus and Orchid, the more he felt the flame rise. The shadow of that demon began to show itself and comforted him once again, telling him that it was okay to kill them. He was a hero, so it was his job to bring the villains to justice.

He tried to ignore it. He wanted to ignore it this time. But when he stood alone with Lotus's body in that tube, he felt it take over. He could finally have his revenge with ease. The body was almost dead anyway, right? He approached the body, focusing only on the intent of hurting the forces that took her away from him… when he felt his own body betray him? It suddenly moved on its own will and headed towards Ereve.

No… it wasn't Phantom's will… it was HIS will. Lotus had managed to slip through and control Phantom while his mind was weak, and Phantom could only watch in terror as he patched together Lotus's plan. As much as he tried, once again he felt powerless. Useless. Why, oh why did he ever give in to that demon inside?

Just as he tried to shut himself out, he felt a familiar presence appear around him. He peak his eyes open, realizing that he once again had control of his own body. He looked up and saw a familiar smile… one that made him realize how badly he had messed up.

"What am I to do with you?" She sighed, "You're so bent on revenge for me, but Phantom, that was 300 years ago…" she told him sternly. "Do you plan on staying upset over that forever?"

Phantom didn't understand. Aria didn't want to be avenged after being wrongly killed?

Aria smiled, "I knew as empress, my life was in constant danger…" she comforted. "…My life's value is nothing compared to this world, Phantom… That's why I don't mind." She smiled, "So please… try not to get too worked up on revenge any more. You're a stronger person than this!" She spoke in her usual voice.

Phantom looked at the top of his room. He felt awful. Not that he would ever admit to it, but that demon was still there. There was still a side of him that wanted revenge against all of them, not simply peace. But! Thanks to Aria's words, he found a power that at least kept it under control. That was all he needed.

"Oh Phantom, I think it's time for you to stop worrying of childish things and grow up!" He told himself. "You can't be worrying over little things like this! You still have so much to do! Like making sure that one dragon boy doesn't get too soft!...Ahh.. What was his name again?" Phantom thought to himself. He had only heard his name once, so it was a bit rusty at the moment. "….Carvan, I think? I seem to recall a v being in there somewhere…" he shrugged it off. "Doesn't matter, I'll learn! But then Aran lacks their memories…" he sighed, "And Mercedes is constantly worrying over everything on Victoria with Athena. Geez, how does that woman not have any wrinkles?" He thought. "Well, despite this, everyone seems to be moving forward… it's almost like we're a happy group again!" Phantom was quiet for a moment then laid back down, "But I'm not too sure if Mercedes even likes me that much. What if she tells Aran and Carvan the horrible things I did in the past! Then they won't trust me!" Phantom jumped back up. "No! no! I have to find Mercedes and make sure she keeps her mouth shut! Carvan needs to have a GOOD idol and Aran needs to keep a GOOD impression of me this time!" He ran out of his room and rushed up to the captain's room. "I need to go to Victoria! Immediately!"

Within a few minutes, Phantom found himself on Victoria, looking around in the Ellinia forest. "Alright, I know her town was somewhere around here…" He started up. "Ohhh… This would be much easier for me to find if they didn't keep their town hidden!" He walked around and bit more, trying to find any sort of hidden life around. "Auugh… I hate forest! Too many nicks and nacks. Although hiding stash wouldn't be a bad idea…." He noted.

He would be looking around a bit longer before starting to feel… a bit ill? He couldn't place his hand on what it was. Something in his stomach was turning and twisting. His heart rate was jumping up. He was just about to assume allergies for himself when he saw it. It was horrid and made his stomach tear in two.

A whole area. Destroyed. Not just slightly either. It was totaled. There were holes in the trees; the house looked like most of it had burnt down to the ground, and the dirt itself looked ashen. Phantom jumped down and walked carefully. Something in the area… it felt… familiar. Too familiar. He didn't like it, but he couldn't find enough sense to pull away. "Hello?" He asked out loud, almost wondering if someone were around. Not even a small breath was heard.

Phantom had almost made it up to the house, when an out of place color caught his eye. He glanced at it and felt his eyes slam open. A body was laying out in the open. He ran over to it and looked at it carefully. It was a relatively young girl with blonde hair. Phantom picked up her arm to check or a pulse, but got his answer right away.

Her body was stiff and firm like a stick, but cold like rock. He slowly placed her hand down in disgust. What could have come after a girl like this? She didn't seem threatening. She didn't even look like she knew how to fight! And yet something heartless enough attacked her so easily. He didn't know what to do. Should he bury her? Leave her here? He didn't feel right to just leave her lying on the ground. He carefully sat the girl up against a tree and looked at her face carefully. The face of death was no stranger to him. He took one of his cards up and changed it into a rose. Laying it in the girl's hands, he spoke quietly. "I'm sorry I can't give you a proper method of rest." He started, "But maybe this could help put you at some ease." Phantom stood up and looked around. He didn't see any more bodies, and he wasn't going to go in house to find out.

He walked up to one of the trees with a gaping hole in it. "I'm assuming this is from the attack…" Phantom spoke while rubbing his hand against it carefully, trying to tell if the hole was fresh or not. Instead, he was given a shock that even a master thief would not expect.

This… this was _his_ magic.

"This…"Phantom told himself. "…What could the black mage have wanted here?" he looked at the girl. "What could she possibly have to offer?" he shook his head. Something felt off. Why would the Black Mage attack a helpless girl?

He stepped back and took note that the holes, while not entirely fresh, were not exactly old. There was still a slight chance that he could find that one around here… or at least someone that could give him an answer or two. And he was going to find them.

He settled his mask on his face and quickly fled the scene with his thief like speed, wandering through the forest, hoping to find someone around and about.

The next two days were fairly unsuccessful. He had heard from the town that there was a loud noise that erupted about a week before his arrival. This struck Phantom as odd because the girl didn't look like she was a week dead… maybe a day or two at most. Then a vile thought struck him… that girl didn't die during the attack. She died afterwards. Slowly. He almost wondered if she was the target at all at this point.

On his third day, he was about to jump back to his ship and call it a day when news hit his ear. A frightening mage was roaming about the forest and causing grief among the Lupins. The fairies seemed worried, as many of them were peaceful on their own, but when riled up, they made a force that even their own town couldn't be safe from.

Taking a chance, Phantom ran up the trees, hoping to find someone. As he got closer and closer, he felt a dark presence in the area. It was no different than his. Phantom almost wondered if he would be able to take him if they ended up fighting. "Aria…" He said to himself, "…I might need your help a bit here…I hope I don't get carried away…" he said quietly, hoping that Aria would find a way to intervene and save the day. But that was foolish thinking.

He approached, hearing the noises of Lupin's screams and roars. He quietly jumped up to the highest point to avoid the mess, only aiming for a look.

That's when he saw it. A mage in solid black, use dark forces again the Luipn's and leaving their bodies to rot on the ground.

Phantom jumped down quickly to the ground, aiming a fury of cards towards the Lupin's sending them off for the moment. When he landed he faced the back of this dark mage. "Well…" he started, "Aren't you the little trouble maker?" he remarked.

The mage stood still and quiet, not even showing an interest in looking at Phantom.

Phantom continued, "I have one question for you… There is a small house area… or was… with a girl living there." He slowly walked towards the figure. "I found it in shambles, and I personally think I have right to believe that it may have been dark magic that caused the event." He stood directly behind the mage, "Now I ask, would you happen to know anything about this?"

There was a moment of silence. It was very tense for Phantom himself. He wasn't sure if he could handle it for too long before snapping. He wanted an answer and he wanted it now.

The mage didn't answer though. He just started to break out into a small chuckle, which turned into a full out laughter.

Phantom took a stance, ready for anything to happen, particularly an attack.

The mage turned around carelessly, "Oh Phantom, since when did you get to be sooo mature?" he laughed.

Phantom's eyes snapped open. Wide open. He took a step back out of sheer surprise, which he himself could not recall the last time that had happened. "Th-This… Y-You-!" Phantom was at a loss for words. He knew the face. He recognized it. The fact that he knew Phantom himself, there was no mistake! "L-Luminous?"

Luminous shrugged a bit and chuckled a bit more, "Surprise?"

Phantom tried to regain his composure and think of the situation on his hands. He ran into Luminous, an old comrade of his, but something was far from right. "Lu-Luminous… Wha-What is with the new threads?" He asked calmly, trying to pinch towards an explanation. He wasn't sure how successful he would be though. Luminous did know about him on a personal level.

"Hmmm?" Luminous looked at his robes, "These? Ah, they changed themselves." He remarked rather rudely.

"Changed by themselves? I didn't know mage clothes could do that." Phantom remarked. Surely he would have heard such thing if it was possible but…

"Well, I don't care." Luminous remarked. "Now, you interrupted my training, so I suggest you leave before I really start to get mad."

Phantom watched Luminous start to walk off. He didn't have any answers and just more questions. What kind of madness was this?

Phantom jumped in front of Luminous. "Now wait just one minute, Luminous." Phantom spoke sternly. "I was watching you from the trees and I saw you using dark skills. Since when did that happen?"

Luminous's face grew angered. "That's none of your concern. Now I will ask nicely one more time. Move."

Phantom returned a dark look, "Not until I get some answers. Tell me. When did you, the mage of light, start using darkness?"

Luminous took his staff and threw a lash of dark energy towards Phantom. Phantom quickly jumped up to a nearby tree branch and dodged the attack. Did… did Luminous just really attack him? He took a card and held it out, ready to attack, "LUMINOUS?" He yelled, "What was that for?"

Luminous looked at Phantom with a sadistic stare. "Heh heh… what, you thought I was joking when I said move? I guess I'll just have to teach you a manner or two ." Luminous stated before lashing more dark energy at Phantom.

Phantom dodged again and threw his prepared car toward Luminous. The mage stepped back and used a quick spell to have dark energy fall on top of Phantom.

Phantom fell down to the ground and looked up at Luminous. "Luminous…" Phantom spoke quietly, "Luminous… please… just answer me… why? Why are you…" he raised his voice, "Why are you reminding me of HIM so much? Didn't we fight together to DEFEAT him?"

Luminous walked up and raised Phantom's head up with his thumb. "Ahhh, yeah, I guess that's true… But you should really know, once I'm strong with this power, I won't need your help or anyone else's." He said before rising up and kicking Phantom in the face back on the ground. "This said!" He chuckled out, "All the rest of you are nothing more than training dummies for me!" He lashed out dark energy towards Phantom and sent him flying back.

Phantom slammed up against a tree. He looked down at the wound across his chest that Luminous gave him. He looked up at Luminous and realized two things: first, this was not the Luminous he fought with in the past. The Luminous of the past didn't get along with Phantom that well, but it was nothing like this. Second, he had to get serious. Luminous was coming at him with the full intention of killing him! He twirled his cane and created a bow and arrow set up. "Luminous!" Phantom yelled, "How dare you place me that low!" He said before shooting out arrows in Luminous's direction. Phantom had overlooked his teleportation skill, which he was quick to make use of.

"Too bad!" He said from behind him, "That was actually a decent shot. Glad to see you're trying now..." he said before slamming Phantom's head back into the ground. He turned Phantom over and stood directly on his torso with his foot, applying as much pressure as possible. "Oh… and about that question from before… Yes, I was the one that destroyed that place. I decided it was a waste of time to stick around now that I have this power." He stated with a slight laugh.

Phantom couldn't think. He couldn't process what was going on. He was in pain from Luminous, but he had too many questions. He tried to think about what to do, like he needed to do something. But all he did was stare. He couldn't find a way to do anything else.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again…" Luminous remarked, "But if this is as strong as you get, then you're wasting my time." Luminous held the sharp end to his staff directly over Phantom.

Phantom regained a bit of sense when he acknowledged the staff aiming towards him. He spun his body from underneath Luminous's foot and quickly jumped up. He gasped for air and tried to let his once crushed rib cage to relax, but he couldn't calm down enough.

Someone he had trusted in the past was currently trying not just to hurt him, but to kill him! He didn't understand at all. Why was Luminous acting this way? When did he start using darkness skills? How did it get this bad? Too many questions, not enough answers, and Phantom was in no shape to pursue information.

He gave Luminous a quick look in the eyes as he teleported back to his ship. Those eyes… they scared him. He was scared of his former ally.

On his ship, Phantom couldn't even make it to the door before collapsing. He didn't even feel like trying to fight. "Luminous…" he thought to himself as he felt his consciousness fade out, "What happened to you? Why are you acting this way?"

He felt himself slip away into a state of slumber, hoping that he could find a way to help Luminous deal with his own inner demons like Aria did for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Wingsor: Yeah, he could of, and that will actually be addressed here. It's not that he couldn't, it that he didn't fight back over all. Thanks for asking!

Phantom spent the next few days being quiet miserable. He woke up three days later in a bit of pain with Gaston scolding him over training again. Despite being up and about within three days, it took Phantom close to a month to recover enough to fight again.

"Ahhh, this is bothersome…" He told himself as he trained on board his ship.

"I do apologize, Master." Gaston remarked, "However, you make it quite clear that you cannot take hits very well. Stamina is a must with you."

"But I don't want to traiiin!" Phantom whined. While whining he let his guard down and got knocked over by one of the pigs Gaston had running around. "Oof!"

Gaston sighed. "As per usual…"

Phantom finished his training with Gaston and left back to his room. "Ooowww.." he moaned out while lying on his bed. "He didn't have to have them tackle me down so much! I probably have bruises all over." He sighed.

Phantom did see Gaston's logic though. He really should have been able to take those hits. He should have been able to fight back, and what's more is that he should have been able to win. Luminous didn't even seem to be that strong… "He must have been weakened too…" Phantom thought out loud. "But I wonder…" he began to flash back to that moment when he encountered Luminous. It always sent a shiver down his spine when he thought about how twisted his face was. It just didn't seem like him at all.

"Ahhh, not good…" Phantom sat up. "Luminous was one of the stronger ones, we can't afford to have him as a foe." He looked at the ground and began to think, "But if he can't tell me what happened…" Phantom stood up, "I guess I may have to actually use force this time." He walked over to the window in his room and look at the moon. "Always a beautiful, calming sight." He had always liked the moon. It was far prettier than the sun, and it held so much mystery. He did wonder about its craters from time to time, trying to see if he could find any new ones, but he never could tell. Still, it was something to do.

Phantom had a rather small world. He knew this. Right now he rarely made trips down to civilization, making appearances only when needed, and surrounded himself with people that he knew he could keep in check with their pay on a regular basis. Every so often, he wondered if their pay was the only thing keeping them around, or if they really liked him as a person, but he found himself too scared to get an answer. He didn't mind being hated, he was a thief. He did mind being rejected though. He simply found himself too good for that!

Maybe that's why he couldn't fight back then… Did he not fight because he felt it would be the seal of betrayal between the two of them? Luminous was honestly trying to kill him, but Phantom…

… He wanted to believe Luminous could still be an ally, a friend. He wanted to just live through with that lie and almost ended up being killed for it. But now… He took a deep breath and thought to himself.

"Aria, I don't know…You would say I should trust him, and I really do…but what am I supposed to do? Trust a man that will kill me?" Phantom grabbed his hat and put it on his head. "I know you probably can't hear me, and there isn't much you can do… but if you could give a bit of guidance…" Phantom remarked calmly. "Even a small amount would help."

He walked out of his room, thinking of what the first bit of action to take would be. Clearly he should find Luminous, but that had been a while ago. He could be anywhere now! "I wonder if Collette would have some time to locate him…"

Phantom walked up to his secretaries' office and saw Collette working away with her partner. He walked up to the blonde in a rather fashionable manner. "Good afternoon, Collette!" he said rather loudly.

"Oh boss." Collette remarked, "Good afternoon! I heard your training went well." She laughed a bit.

"Oh don't remind me." Phantom whined again, "You know I hate training."

"Yeah but if you don't do that, you'll get fat! Do you see all the food you usually eat!" She joked.

"I WILL NOT GET FAT." Phantom remarked in a panicked tone. "I HAVE A FAST METABOLISM, IT'S GOOD ON ITS OWN!"

Collette broke out into laughter, "Oh boss, I'm kidding! I don't see you losing your shape any time soon!" She said, "So what's up? I haven't found much on the Black Wings in a while if that's what you're here for."

Phantom shook his head, "Actually, I have a special request." He looked at Collette, "I need to find the mage that hurt me about a month ago."

"Ah? You want payback or something?" Collette wondered.

"No, no, nothing like that." Phantom said, "I learned my lesson about getting payback before, I really don't need to do that again. I'm not suited for that."

Collette's face became confused, like she was really curious, but kept her mouth shut and began to look stuff up. "Alright, what kind of information do you have on your attacker?"

Phantom started off, "Well, at the time, he had black hair with red tips wearing a black and gold robe." He rubbed his chin, "he also had red eyes and was known for being aggressive by the locals."

"And you approached someone like this?" Collette thought out loud. By description alone, it sounded like a trouble maker.

Phantom's face drew in an agonizing despair, "I know it sounds bad by words alone, but trust me, I have my reasons." He whined.

"Alright…" She looked some information up and began looking around, "Hmm… we have a few sightings of mages somewhat like that in Minar, Magatia, and El Nath, but none on Victoria, and none of them are 100% matches. Seems like the red tips of hair isn't common."

Phantom thought to himself, "Nowhere in sight right now, huh? Did he simply not leave Victoria?" He looked up at Collette, "Alright, I'll go down and do some personal investigating. If you find anything, let me know immediately."

Collette nodded, "You got it boss!"

On Victoria, Phantom headed towards the forest again. It was possible that he could gather some value of clues to where he could have went from the town there. Seemed like a best bet anyway.

While crossing through the forest, Phantom's eyes became distracted. They curved over in the direction of the destroyed house. He recalled the girl from before and the chaos that he saw first-hand. Then he thought back to Luminous laughing while claiming responsibility. Sickening. Absolutely sickening.

He began to wonder if that girl was still sitting there, or if something had dragged her away to make her a next meal. He tried to ignore these thoughts, telling himself he had work to do, but alas, he figured one small look wouldn't be that bad. He was fast, so he wouldn't have to lose that much time. He just wanted to find out and put his mind as some kind of odd, twisted, peace.

Once he reached the place, he looked around. The area felt… different. It felt heavy, like a shade of darkness was still covered over, but something was different over all.

He carefully jumped across the trees, trying to find the tree where he laid the girl. Either he was bad with directions, or something really did drag her off, because he didn't see any trace of her. He sighed heavily. "That poor girl…" he thought to himself. She couldn't be spared from nature either?

He was about to turn around when something colorful caught his eye. He looked towards a tree and saw a small arrangement of wild flowers laid on a rock. "Hmmm?" He jumped closer and looked from above. "Is… is this a grave?"

Phantom jumped down and looked on it. There was a small rock placed, and upon some small inspection, Phantom concluded that the dirt seemed like it was freshly turned in the past few weeks. Not quite fresh, but not quiet firm either. "Huh… how about that…? I wonder who showed up and did thi—" Phantom remarked, but was caught off by a small attack of light. He quickly dodged it by jumping up in the trees and jumped back a few, simply hoping the attacker wouldn't see him. Phantom didn't exactly feel like explaining his presence at a grave.

"Who's over there?" A familiar voice rang.

Phantom's eyes opened up a bit. Was that voice… Luminous? No, it couldn't be… could it?

Surely enough, Luminous walked up to the grave and looked around sternly. He clearly wasn't in the happiest of moods, but Phantom did make note that he seemed to look normal. His once black and red hair had returned to its white and blue shades. His black robes were also replaced with his former white robes too. It struck Phantom as very odd.

"Come out here you! I know you're still there!" he yelled.

Phantom wondered. Should he risk it? This… it could be a trap. If Luminous looked like this , Phantom would probably drop his guard only to be killed in an instant when he turned his back. He wasn't about to foolishly risk that. "A simple test." He thought to himself. He turned his cane into a staff and use a small ice attack to have Luminous jump but a few feet.

"What the-?" Luminous teleported away in time, looking as the ice stayed in the ground. "…A mage, huh? " he thought to himself as he stood up, "So you want to play a magic game, is that it?" he spoke in a very annoyed manner.

Phantom chuckled a bit. It had been awhile since he saw any of his old friends face to face like this, and it had been even longer since he played any soft jokes on them that like this. He then decided it probably wasn't good to keep fighting around a grave, but he needed one more test just to make sure Luminous wasn't playing at some kind of trick. He jumped across to the other side of the forest before turning his cane into a bow and shooting out a small amount of arrows.

Luminous jumped back, "Eh?" He dodged them with ease, making a mental note that whomever was around had really bad control of their skills. Not only was the magic easily avoided, so were the arrows. "Oh a two on one?" he yelled out. "Quit hiding before I really get mad."

Phantom laughed a bit to himself. "Before you get mad? You seem quiet pissed off right now." He thought to himself. Reckon, it was around a grave, so he had reason, but Phantom was able to conclude that Luminous was a lot calmer than before and decided not to press the issue on any further. He wouldn't want to get him worked up now.

"Actually…" Phantom started up coolly as usual, he used his shroud ability to appear in front of Luminous, but at some distance, "It's still one on one, but I think it wouldn't be too smart to fight around here, wouldn't you agree?"

Luminous's eyes opened a bit when he saw Phantom. "Phantom?" he stated in a rather confused voice before sighing, "Do I even want to know why you're here?"

Phantom took a small step forward, "Well, I came for a walk through he forest." He grinned a bit, pleased by this fact, "Tell me Luminous, how have you been?"

Luminous looked at Phantom and shook his head, "How I have been, you ask? Do I even need to answer that?"

Phantom shrugged, "Well it never hurts. I was just curious a bit, that's all."

Luminous turned around and started to walk off, "Well I'm doing fine, so you can leave."

Watching Luminous leave, Phantom had two ideas run through his head. Be mature and leave quietly, or be himself. This is to say, be predictable and throw a remark or two out about being ignored, which was something he did not approve of! "H-Hey now! I came all the way down here to see you and you shrugged me off like that?"

Luminous continued to ignore the thief. Phantom childishly followed, "That's not very nice Luminous! I know we weren't on the best of terms in the past, but come on now! We've not seen each other in 300 years!"

Luminous shrugged, "Sounds like a personal problem. None of us were even that close in the past."

Phantom looked down at the ground. Luminous had a fair point. They all just used Freud as their way of relaying information and came together for the battles. There was no actual companionship between the five of them in the past. "Well, this is true, but Luminous, don't you think we could work together better if we started to form some sort of bond? The Black Mage and his officers have a stronger bond than we had, this could be why we failed so many years ago and—"

"We failed because we were weak." Luminous said sternly. "They were stronger and they outnumbered us. It's as simple as that."

Surrendering to his point, Phantom decided to come clean about his real reason for looking for Luminous. "Luminous, you know I never leave my ship without cause, and I am not going to lie, I did seek you out."

Luminous raised a brow, "You sought me out? Why? Are you trying to play big man in reuniting the heroes?"

Phantom shook his head, "Oh heavens no. That's too much of a task and Cygnus already has that taken care of…" He started, "I'm here because I want to know what is going on with you."

"Going on with me?" Luminous's face grew confused as well as a bit concerned. "What are you…?"

"Luminous, about a month ago, I had the misfortune of running into on what seemed to be a bit beyond a bad day." He remarked bluntly. "You left me out in a coma for three days and it took about a month to recover enough to start fighting again. Don't 'I don't know' me. "

Luminous's face jerked a bit. "That…" he looked a bit pained almost.

"Well?" Phantom spoke sternly. He didn't know much about Luminous personally, but he did know enough about people that if you kept your footing firm when they started to crack like this, they would usually spill out any and all information that he wanted to know.

"Look…" Luminous started up, "I… I will say this once. I am sorry, okay? I am sorry I attacked you like that, but for now, can we not talk about it?"

Phantom's face grew confused itself, "Not talk about it? Luminous, there was certainly something wrong and I don't know what but we need to get to the bottom of thi—"

"'We' don't need to do anything. I'll deal with this myself." Luminous said. "You just worry about yourself."

Phantom shook his head, "Absolutely not! Our success is in the fact that we gather as much of our old power together and combine it with the new power that this time has to offer! You're a vital part of this!"

"I'm not going to be helping anyone!" Luminous remarked. "If anything, it'd turn out to be a disaster that I can't even control."

Phantom looked at Luminous. "Can't control?" he asked curiously. It seemed like an odd wording choice for Luminous.

Luminous started to walk off, "Just mind your own business Phantom, you were good at that in the past."

Phantom watched Luminous leave carefully. While Luminous vanished beyond the trees, Phantom took a chance to look at the grave of the girl from before. "Can't control huh? It must have been painful…" He looked at it and began to think. Luminous was as aloof as ever, showing little interest in getting to know anyone and even less working with him. Phantom recalled in the past that Freud had managed to keep Luminous around, as he really was more of a lone worker himself. Always doing things by himself. Then again, he didn't blame him! 300 years ago, you would be a fool to trust anyone! With all of the wars between the nations and cities going on, it seemed like everyone had a reason to hate everyone. It certainly wasn't an easy world back then… Maybe the new world, with its peace and ability to come together, was finally sinking in with Phantom. These people were different from the ones 300 years ago. They all seemed to be working on trust opposed to interest. It was different from what phantom as used to, but he also realized that it certainly was working in their favor. Perhaps he should give it a try?

He took a step back before vanishing off towards the house. He stepped up to the door and knocked a bit. "Luminous~ I know you're in there!" He said merrily.

Luminous easily ignored the said knock.

Phantom tapped on the door with his cane. "This door is simple oak, Luminous, don't make me knock it down."

Luminous opened the door with a less than pleased expression, "What. Do. You. Want?" he muttered out.

"I am not leaving until we have talked a bit!" Phantom said, walking in the house as if he owned the place. "It doesn't have to be about your little issue or bad day and what not… Just simple chat!"

Luminous growled a bit, "Phantom… I do NOT want to talk right now, especially to some lowly thief."

"Ouucchh." Phantom remarked, "Lowly thief? I'm a master thief!" He whined.

"I don't care. A thief is a thief. You steal things that aren't yours."

Phantom sighed, "Well, you have a point, but it wouldn't hurt to put a little more concern for my well-being in there, would it?

"Yes actually, it would."

"Oh, I'll just pretend I didn't hear that!" Phantom laughed.

"Why are you still here?" Luminous snapped, "I told you to leave!"

"And I said I'm not leaving until we talk!" Phantom remarked. "I want to believe that we can become a stronger team this time around. We were all powerful back in the day, but our forces were divided behind the scenes. The Black Mage and his men are much too closely drawn and organized opposed to us! We can't just assume that a single goal is going to give us the same type of dedication and power they have!"

Luminous looked at Phantom and let out a small laugh. "Feh… Well, look at you trying to be Mr. Mature."

"Yes, I believe you said something like that last time too…" Phantom rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ahh…" Luminous said in a rather forfeiting manner, "I wouldn't be able to tell you."

Phantom looked at Luminous, "Can't tell? Why not?"

Luminous sat down in a nearby chair. It was slightly burnt around the handles, but it still could hold him fairly well. He took a small breath, almost wondering why he was suddenly feeling drained. Maybe he just didn't feel like arguing and wanted Phantom just to leave. Yeah… that was it. Just tell Phantom what he wants and he'll go. "I can tell you that I can't seem to recall anything that happens when I get like that." He looked out a window. "One minute I'm standing there, the next thing I know, there are dead bodies all over the place."

Phantom raised a brow in regards to this. He had tried to attack Lotus, yes, but he at least was aware of what he was doing… heck, he was aware of what he was doing when Lotus was in his body! Luminous on the other hand…

…Phantom began to wonder if he could really help Luminous with his problem, or if he was getting a bit in over his head.

"I have an idea of where it came from…" Luminous remarked, "I know he's responsible behind this, I just don't know how." His face grew serious, "And I feel that somehow… that's the trick to getting this under control."

"He… being the Black Mage?" Phantom asked.

Luminous nodded slightly in return.

Phantom began to think things through. He was finally getting information, he just had to patch it together. The black mage apparently did something to Luminous that makes him go… crazy… to say the least. And when this happens, Luminous has no control over himself. He seems to just find humor in attacking things and making himself stronger while in this state. And to wrap it all up, he has recollection of what he did while being dark. "Hmm…" Phantom thought to himself. "It sounds… like a nasty curse or spell."

Luminous chuckled, "Yeah, I figured that much out. I just don't think I know what kind."

Phantom thought some more, "Hmm.. I wonder if anyone on my ship could look into this for you…"

Luminous raised his head up a bit, "No, you don't need to get started on that."

"But Luminous, this is serious! You could end up being taken over by that curse one day and not be able to change back!" Phantom spoke out.

Luminous sighed and sunk back into the chair. "it almost already did…"

Phantom blinked a bit, "Eh? Already?"

Luminous gave a rather sad excuse for a chuckle, "I guess I just went overboard. I had never felt anything like it before, and I let it take over." He looked out the window again, "it wasn't until I had to face the consequences of this choice when I finally snapped out of it."

"The consequences?" Phantom looked out the window as well. He felt a sharp pain inside as he realized he was probably talking about the girl outside.

"I can honestly tell you Phantom, I have no idea what I am doing." Luminous remarked weakly. "I'm used to using light, not darkness… but even then, it would be different if I trained myself with dark powers, and didn't have them thrown on me like it was hand me down clothing."

"Ick…" Phantom remarked, "I wouldn't wish that on anyone!" he remarked boldly.

Luminous was almost going to say something, when he realized Phantom was talking about the hand me down clothes. "You're impossible…" he sighed.

Phantom settled down and began to think of a way to help Luminous. "Well, I'm not sure if I can talk about curses, but I can tell you…" He started up "I don't want you to go through this by yourself. Fighting something that makes you go against your morals is…tough at times." He spoke quietly.

"Eh?" Luminous caught on to Phantom's drop in tone. "Sounds like you have had a bit of a hard time yourself…"

Phantom gave a rather defeated laugh, "Like you don't even know…"

Luminous sat and began to wonder why he was, telling this to Phantom of all people. He hated the man and everything he stood for… but… since Lania wasn't around, he was probably a bit lonesome. Maybe he just needed someone to talk with a bit. Ah, what did it matter? He didn't know any more. He didn't care.

Phantom looked at Luminous. Luminous seemed really weak compared to his past self. Not just because of the weakening curse…not, it was totally different. It was more like something had shaken Luminous down to the core and he was just a broken mess of things.

Almost like what he had felt like when he lost Aria…

"Alright, it's decided!" Phantom spoke loudly. "I am going to help you find a way to get thins under control!"

Luminous jumped up, "What? Phantom, were you not listenin-?"

"Oh I was…" Phantom assured. "I was very well… I may not know everything, but, I still acknowledge that we will need your power against the black mage, this much is true." Phantom spoke. "And I would prefer it if you didn't end up anywhere close to where I ended up." He added to himself in thought.

Luminous grew irritated, "Phantom. Just leave me be and I will figure this out on my own. It's nothing too difficult."

"Not too difficult? Luminous, we were all affected by the Black mage one way or another, but in your case, you're constantly having to battle him even when he's not here."

"Then so be it. I'm not taking your help."

"I'm not offering it to you, I am forcing it on you whether you like it or not." Phantom remarked.

Luminous really wanted to retort back to this. He really wanted Phantom gone, but at the same time, he knew… he knew he was being foolish. Get over this on his own? Yeah right… If this were to happen, he probably would end up being swallowed by the darkness. The very idea scared him. He allowed his mouth to stay shut and watched as Phantom continued on with his game plan… whatever it was…

This was going to be interesting for the two of them…


	3. Chapter 3

As time went by, Luminous decided that the best course of action to take would be to balance the two powers he possessed. While he was certainly no stranger to light forces, he did not ignore the fact that his light powers were weakened drastically, making the power of darkness that much more appealing to him. "No…" He thought, "I must not submit to that. Easy power is never a good thing." He told himself.

In order to power his light forces, Beowan, a former sage, now ghost, had suggested he seek out powerful crystals that would help him in balancing the two forces.

It was not an easy task. Not at all… Most of the crystals were in the hands of monsters and foes, those which would not hand them over easily. He found the first crystal in possession of a penguin attacking a mushroom kingdom. Deciding it was for the best overall, he had decided to step in and find a way to help the kingdom. While doing so, Phantom managed to make a trip to see him, which Luminous still had not quiet been too pleased over. The two bickered the whole time, with Phantom doing a lot of the work.

"How am I supposed to practice if you keep knocking everything back?" Luminous yelled.

"Well I'm only trying to help. I just don't think massive amounts of fighting will do you any good at the moment!" Phantom said. It was true though! He wasn't even sure how Luminous's curse worked, and the last thing he needed was for him to randomly go off on little pepes… "Consider it observation~!"

Luminous rolled his eyes, "Phantom, I am not one of your subjects."

"No, you are not, but I don't exactly want you as an uncontrollable force either. Have you done anything like this since waking up?"

Luminous growled a bit to himself. Phantom had a point, but he wasn't going up and admit to that. "Phantom, I will be fine. You go do whatever it is you do these days."

Phantom sighed, "What? Sit in my ship and wait to be needed?" He whined.

Luminous looked at Phantom with an unbelievable look. "Really… you waste your time on your ship?"

Phantom shrugged, "I retired from my days of stealing treasure long ago, Luminous. There's not much for a master thief to do!"

"So you're just going to harass me… wonderful." Luminous sighed.

Phantom and Luminous both took on the castle with ease. They were both rewarded at the end of their task with being "honored" with seeing the princess's face…

"Well…" Phantom stated on the way back, "I am not one to judge on the beauty of other races…" he muttered out, "But if I ever see a human with that kind of face, I am probably going to El Nath to purge my eyes in lava."

Luminous remained quiet, trying not to say anything, although he personally agreed with the thief… it was rather…unsightly.

Phantom would continue to make small trips back and forth with Luminous, which he didn't find too appealing. "I don't know how Freud dealt with him…" he sighed, "then again; I don't think he was playing baby sitter with him." He sat down on a spare bench and looked ahead, trying to sort his thoughts out.

Long ago, he never bothered to get to know the thief. Luminous simply had no interest in him what so ever, and was against his own personal moral code. When the two spoke back then, it would always get tense and quiet aggressive. He was almost thrown back by this present day Phantom. He seemed to be a complete 180 version of himself.

Well… almost….

He was still sly and stealthy, he didn't care much for interaction with strangers, and he was still full of himself, but at the same time, he almost seemed… silly? Was that the word? Yes… he was like a child at heart almost. His logic over simple matters, his behavior, all of it seemed akin to that of a child that had gotten everything it ever wanted his whole life. It was almost shocking. Did something happen to him over the course of time?

Or was Luminous the one that had changed? Years ago, he had been from a rather elite village of sages, not trying to interact with anyone he didn't deem worthy. It was fairly standard and common. But when he woke up and was taken in by Lania…

Luminous felt a heavy grief upon him. Just thinking of the name… he sighed and stood up. He didn't have time to worry about Phantom or little things like that. He needed to find a way to balance his powers out.

He continued his search for the crystals. He did note that with the crystals, the darkness held control over him for small periods of time, but it still held control. He would "wake up" in some of the oddest places too, such as the bottom of Sleepywood. It was a mystery what his dark half was going for to him, but quite frankly, he didn't care to know. He wanted him gone.

His search would lead him to the island of Chryse, home of the giants. They had been going through some rough times since one of their own "pets" became a raging monster. Luminous could almost relate. He took it upon himself to help the giants in need, though he did find fighting the rodent to be rather bothersome at times…

Luminous had finally proven himself to Michael, the greatest warrior of their town, and he said that he would help prepare their forces for action against Xerxes… but first, he wanted to help someone else… Michaela was in sad shape. She would constantly cry over everything that had happened, so for Michael to announce that time drew near for them to launch an attack… he did not want her to suffer through that without knowing it pained him as well.

"Traveler!" Michael announced, "I have a favor to ask before we commence our attack!"

Luminous looked at the giant. He took a step back as Michael lowered himself down and began to whisper, "Times are hard, little one. For some, it is greater than others." He pointed towards Michaela. Luminous looked her way and sighed a bit. It struck him as a shame to see a woman of any size be that depressed. Michael looked back at Luminous, "I have heard there are treasures in Orbis… lights, so to speak, from the pixies." He stood up, "I hear they are quiet beautiful, and could possibly bring up anyone's spirits. Would you be so kind as to gather a few? I would go myself, but at my size…"

Luminous chuckled a bit, "No, I understand. I'll go and find some for you."

Michael nodded, "Thank you traveler. It has only been a blessing since you arrived."

Luminous made his way back down to Orbis and looked around. "So I need to find these pixies…" He said to himself before walking forward in hopes of finding them.

Finding them wasn't an issue for Luminous. They almost seemed to have found him quickly. It was gathering the lights that seemed to be a chore because they wouldn't stop showing up. "Damn!" Luminous thought to himself. "It probably would have been better to send a giant for this!" He thought with regret.

After a couple of hours of work with the pixie's, Luminous started to count all of the lights he gathered. "Hmmm… I guess they look decent… I hope a giant can see them." He said to himself as he began to set out, only to be greeted by a familiar voice.

"Luminous~!" the voice rang out. Phantom appeared in a flash before him, "How are you?" he said with his usual smile.

Luminous stared at the thief. "Fine. What do you want?" He barked out.

"Ah, aloof as usual." Phantom sighed, "Well, I'll have you know, my trip this time isn't about simply checking up on you… Well… that too… anything happen recently?"

"No." Luminous lied. "I told you, I have this under control. Why do you keep coming back?"

Phantom walked up to Luminous, "Ah, usually I would just come to check in, but today!" he snapped his fingers, "I have some great news!"

Luminous raised a brow, "News? What kind of news?"

Phantom chuckled with pride, "Well you see Luminous, I have been having my secretaries look all over for information regarding your little curse. It's taken a bit of time, even for them, but it looks like they have made a good step of progress!"

It was odd to admit to himself, but right now, Phantom had Luminous's full attention. What kind of information did he find?

Phantom looked at the bag Luminous was carrying. "Hmm? What's in the bag?"

"J-Just some charms. They're not important, just tell me what you know!" Luminous demanded.

"Charms? Oh I want a peak!" Phantom swiftly grabbed the bag from Luminous. "Ahhh, these charms are so gorgeous! I think I like this moon shaped one…"

"Phantom!" Luminous yelled, "Those aren't for you, and are you going to tell me about the curse or not?"

Phantom chuckled a bit and tossed him his bag back while putting a moon shaped charm on his side. "Oh Luminous, you know so little about value! Even the smallest bit of information can cost a man a fortune, consider yourself lucky all I wanted was a charm!"

Luminous rolled his eyes. Of course value was involved, but he had his charm now. "Okay fine, you have your charm. Now what?"

Phantom looked at Luminous seriously, "We discovered a bit that might shed a bit of light that could be a hint towards controlling the dark power you have, if not completely removing it." He leaned against a nearby building. "Considering Freud was the one that studied things like seals and curses, we back tracked to some of his old records. It looks like he knew a small amount about this curse… " He blinked and thought for a moment, "Luminous… when you sealed the Black mage, did Freud mention not to touch him?"

Luminous rubbed his head, "You honestly expect me to remember that far back?" Luminous thought, "Well… he mentioned something about the Black mage not being able to break out of the seal once it was casted… but then he did anyway so… I forced him back."

Phantom closed his eyes and began to patch Luminous's information with his own. "I see… You forced him back into the seal at the time the seal was casted… Were you able to escape from it by the time it activated?"

Luminous shook his head, "The hell if I know. One minute I'm holding the Black Mage back, the next thing I know, I'm 300 years in Ellinia."

Phantom looked at Luminous, "Luminous… was there… was there any chance any ice around you when you woke up?"

Luminous shook his head, "Not that I can recall… then again, I wasn't exactly looking for anything like it either. I was a little lost…"

Taking a deep sigh Phantom closed his eyes, "Ah, that's not too good… From the sounds of it, it sounds like you were stuck in that nasty seal with the Black mage for 300 years then…"

Luminous flinched back a bit, "What?"

Phantom flicked his hat, "You used brute force to force the Black Mage back, which corrupted you. Ideally, you should have recollection of the curse and its initial effects, such as when it first affected you, but, this would not occur if the cursed one was sleeping, or in this sealed up in time."

Luminous began to think. Trying to follow Phantom's logic, he tried to think if he could actually recall being cursed at all… He seemed to recall forcing the Black mage back, and then feeling something cold pour a rather unpleasant pain through his arm. He had almost felt like he was going to lose control of himself, when he found himself in the forest. Was Phantom really right on this? Did the seal from years ago prevent his darkness from initially swallowing him? He shook his head, "But then… why wasn't I taken over when I first woke up?"

Phantom shrugged, "I suppose it wore off while you were sleeping…" he remarked. He looked at Luminous again, "We can conclude the time in which the curse was laid, but there is one more thing: how this curse works." Phantom looked off to the side, "And I'm not quiet too sure how I am supposed to phrase this…"

Luminous blinked and looked at Phantom, "I don't care how, just tell me!"

"It starts with an opening…" Phantom started. "The darkness has to have an opening to 'take over' so to speak."

"An opening?" Luminous repeated. "You mean like a weak spot?"

"Maybe…" Phantom shrugged, "It just depends. It confused me a bit at first too." He waved his finger around a bit, "But then a bit more study showed that an 'opening' can be anything. A weak point, a strong point… all that is needed is for it to have the same point."

"What? That doesn't make any sense!" Luminous yelled back. Maybe he didn't give it enough though and just jumped the gun by yelling that out, but he felt that much was true. If he didn't understand right away, there had to be something missing…

"Hmmm…" Phantom tried to think of an example… He could get personal and use one he had himself, but… now wasn't the time for that. The show didn't need to focus on him for a change. "Let's say … you wanted to protect some valuable treasure of some sort." He started off, "You were dedicated to protecting this treasure, but you didn't want to seem like a bad guy to those that came after it, so you were never violent. If one were to be affected by this curse, let's say… it too had a reason for protecting this treasure, but at any cost. The cursed one would become quiet vicious not only from the dark influence, but from their mind set of wanting to protect the treasure as well. Make sense?"

Luminous tried to take it all of this information in, as well as the scenario described. "So… you're saying that the curse and I want something… similar?"

"Well it is technically still you, albeit a different version… just with a rather nasty influence." Phantom remarked.

Luminous shook his head, "No… I refuse to believe I have anything in common with that… that thing."

Phantom shrugged, "I can't force you to do either of these things, but , I am a bit worried over this personally…"

"Why should you be? This is stupid logic." Luminous retorted out.

Phantom's face grew quiet serious. Much akin to the faces he made in the past when Luminous barely knew him. "It's Freud's logic. He knew more about this than either of us, so don't take it lightly. It wasn't exactly easy to recollect. I am sure even you know that spells this complex aren't a simple cast and it's done trick…"

Luminous looked down at the ground. He… he still couldn't accept it. What could he and his monstrous other half have in common? Luminous wanted to find a way to help others and possibly save the world from the terror it knew years ago… His "other half" was just some power hungry devil that would kill off anything unlucky enough to slither into his path. He started to walk off, "Thank you for that information… I'll keep it in mind."

Phantom watched Luminous walk off, "Hmm? Where are you going?"

"Somewhere… I don't want you following me around. It looks bad."

Phantom laughed, "Someone as good looking as me makes you look bad? Why Luminous, that's almost insultive!"

Luminous continued to ignore the thief and walked on.

Phantom watched and then blinked. Luminous clearly wasn't going to try to find the similarities, but maybe Phantom could. He had only encountered that half once before, but maybe there could be clues dropped? He felt it was his job to know. He jumped besides Luminous and sighed, "Well, I suppose I skipped out of usual training on my ship with Gaston, so I'll just come along with you!"

Luminous flinched and looked over to his side, "You will NOT."

Phantom shrugged, "Really Luminous, I'm a master thief with a ship of my own and an information base that makes most libraries look empty. Do you really think you can hide from me?"

Luminous sighed. He had no earthly idea why Phantom was being so persistent. It was like he was trying to force himself into his personal life, when he just didn't care for it. Any of it! But at the same time, it was rather odd getting to know this side of Phantom… He was shown to be smart and informative, clever and cunning, and most of all, a complete idiot to basic human interaction and responses. The man just simply did not grasp the concept of being told no. "Fine." Luminous submitted, "But I'm not stopping to help you if you get hurt."

Phantom laughed, "Luminous, we're both heroes! I am quite sure I can fend for myself." He spoke with optimism as the two set out once again for Chryse.


	4. Chapter 4

The two reached Chryse within a matter of hours. Upon gifting the charms to Michaela, whom seemed quite pleased, the two decided to take towards direct action against Xerxes.

It was not simple, by any means. Most of the weapons were taken in the raid and had to be taken back by force. Luminous and Phantom both found themselves battling rodents all around.

"Make sure you don't ruin the spears!" Luminous yelled out. "It's already a pain gathering one of them, but we have to get a bit of them!"

Phantom smiled, "I know! Geez, if it weren't for the SIZE of these spears, I would just consider buying a whole new lot of them."

Luminous sighed. "Always the easy way out with you… Never a lick of hard work…"

Phantom huffed, "What's that supposed to mean? I work hard!"

"Yeah right." Luminous rolled his eyes. "You got rich off of stolen goods. You honestly expect me to believe that?"

"Do you know how much work went into stealing those said goods?! Besides, they were misusing their value anyway!" he boasted.

Luminous sighed and went back to hunting down rodents for spears. He looked a bit further down a cliff and saw a small group... they looked small enough to be taken on by him alone, but he was sure Phantom would jump in, so it was pretty safe to go in for the attack. He gestured Phantom over his way and pointed to them quietly. Phantom nodded his head and twirled a card on his finger tip. Within a flash the two ended up in front of the giant monsters.

Luminous sent out sparks of light energy, sending the sand up around them. They cut through it with a bit of ease and hissed back. Phantom jumped up above Luminous and threw cards towards their heads, trying to knock them back away.

It worked and the three rodents slid across the ground. One of them let out a loud roar of some sort and the three stood together as a group and hissed.

"Do they really think the three of them can stand up to us? We're a lot better than that, you know?" Phantom shrugged.

Luminous, on the other hand, had a bad feeling. The three stood together, but they didn't charge at them. They kept their distance… this was not overlooked by him.

A rock fell behind him. Tiny ones. He looked up and saw a small gathering of rodents behind him Oh no…

More of them showed up from various corners, growling and hissing. The two of them had fallen right into a trap. "Damn it…" Luminous cursed to himself. How could he have been this foolish?

Phantom placed his hand on his hat, "Well, this is a bit of a situation…" he remarked calmly, "Shall we deal with them quickly?"

"Feh, I suppose that's as good as anything else right now…" Luminous remarked.

With a loud roar, the monsters charged at them. A few wouldn't have been a threat to the two of them, but because of their giant size and their numbers, Phantom and Luminous found themselves in a bit of jam. The monsters worked and separated the two heroes as far as possible.

Phantom could knock them back with ease, but that was about it. Their size made it hard for him to finish the job. Luminous could hit them hard, but without being able to knock them back, they gathered around him relatively quickly.

Luminous took a deep breath as the monsters gathered. He was knocking them down, but they gathered around him. He looked at Phantom whom was simply playing ping pong with the monsters, trying to force them back. "Phantom!" Luminous yelled. He pointed over toward a rock wall. If they could get one side protected by a wall and only needed to face one side, they should be safe. Phantom nodded and tried to jump over in that direction. The monsters were able to block him, making his job rather slow.

Luminous simply teleported over to the wall. "Come on Phantom!"

Phantom placed a hand on his mask and disappeared with a flock of cards. He reappeared next to Luminous "Sorry bout that."

The rodents closed in on them from the front side all around. Phantom and Luminous watched them slowly approach. Luminous chuckled a bit, "You get left side, I get right?"

Phantom twirled his cane around and turned it into a dagger. "We'll meet in the center."

Luminous stuck his staff towards the far right side and unleashed a spectral light attack against the monsters. It swiftly cut into the monsters and blasted them away. He moved it towards the center, where Phantom had knocked back his share of the monsters. "Of course…" Luminous thought.

Once he reached the center, Phantom jumped back next to him and took up some his cards, "Now!" he yelled as he tossed a fury of cards towards the monsters on top of Luminous's attack.

Within a moment, all of the rodents were gone. The area was still, save the breathing between Phantom and Luminous. They stood there for a moment to regain their breath. Luckily for them, it was a weak and basic trap they had set up, but a trap none the less.

Phantom turned and looked at Luminous, "Well that worked out well." He smiled.

Luminous grumbled a bit. For some reason, Phantom's smile irritated him more than comforted him. "Let's go see how many of the spears are in good shape… With any luck, a few should be useable."

Phantom and Luminous looked around at the remains of the battle. The monsters laid still in their own blood. Looking at their faces, Luminous felt and odd calming sense go over him from it. It was rather surreal for him.

Phantom looked around and shrugged, "Nope. It looks like all of them are ruined…"

Luminous sighed, "Great… just great…" he felt really irritated suddenly by everything. He took a breath and tried to calm down.

Phantom walked up to Luminous and patted him on the back, "Well, I can't say it's too good, but at least we're in good health, right?" He looked at Luminous and his smile fell quick. "Huh?"

"What?" Luminous remarked sharply.

"Hold still…" Phantom raised his hand up to Luminous's face and moved his hair over to the side. "…Has… has your eye always been like that?"

Luminous jumped a bit. He didn't even have to see to know what he was talking about. That stupid eye… it would always start to turn red when that was getting close…He turned around and threw his hair over his eyes. "Don't worry about it!" he snapped. "We have a job to do."

Phantom walked up to Luminou's side. "N-Now hold on Luminous, this could be serious. Maybe we should consider a break or a rest?"

"We'll do no such thing!" Luminous said, "We have to get the core back and help the locals out as quickly as possible."

"Yes but making sure you're safe would probably be on their list of priorities as well." Phantom said calmly.

Luminous looked back at Phantom. He could feel himself getting irritated over Phantom's concern… over the core… over the whole damn situation. It wouldn't be long now, would it…? He had to find a way to get rid of Phantom. He didn't want him to see him like that. He didn't want him to see him so weak and pathetic. The fact that he had a chance to made him even more irritated. "Phantom, I am not going to waste my time." He thought to himself, "If I can get that crystal quickly, I might be able to prevent it…"

Phantom shook his head, "You won't be wasting time if you just take a moment to calm down a bit. I understand you were probably a bit worked up, but you need to…"

"Phantom will you shut up?" Luminous yelled sharply. "Since when the hell do I need some damn thief's opinion of how to care for myself? You can barely tend to your own damn needs before telling others how to take care of their own! I know what I am doing, and I do NOT need your help."

Phantom jumped back a bit. That was a little on the harsh side, wasn't it? "Luminous… I…I'm just trying to…"

"To do what? Help me out? I already told you, I know what I am doing. I have this under control!" he tapped his chest, "If you don't think I do, that's fine, but you are not about to pressure that on to me! I am not that weak!"

"I'm not trying to pressure anything on you, Luminous!" Phantom started to raise his voice, "I'm just saying that if you need any kind of assistance I would like for it to be available to yo—"

"Ohhh yes, because you've clearly had a GREAT JOB of being WONDERFUL assistance in the past, right? Oh wait, that's right, you run around hurting people before helping them! That's what a thief does right?! Ohh, but let's wait… there are SOME people you've tried to help in the past before too, right? Yes, I'm sure they're alllll doing great where they are right now!"

Phantom felt a sharp pain. It … it really hurt. He couldn't tell if it was guilt, anger, or whatever… all he knew is that something had hit him hard. He was left speechless by this. Did Luminous really have to go that far? "I…I'm sorry…" Phantom took a step back, "You're right, I probably should have minded my own business." He said in a monotone voice, "I'll be on my way then… " Phantom said before a shroud of cards lifted him back to his ship.

Luminous watched as Phantom left. He had a bit of a heavy heart watching Phantom leave that way, but it was worth it. He could feel the guilt being absorbed by the darkness, feeding it slowly. "Tch… I can't waste time here… I need to go find Xerxes and get that crystal." Luminous thought to himself before making a quick attempt to get to Xerxes.

Phantom appeared in his room. He usually chose to show up on the outside of his ship and enjoy the view, but not right now… Now… he just needed to rest. He set his hat down on his dresser and laid on his bed. He lifted his head up and tried to think about what happened. Had pointing the eye out angered him that much? Or was it the concern? He didn't know… he just didn't know.

He knew Luminous and he had been off to a rather rough start. Luminous had a strong dislike for his reputation and Phantom wasn't too keen of his arrogance, but now wasn't the time for that. He needed to change. He wanted to change. He wanted to be different than the Phantom of 300 years ago. He wanted to be a Phantom that would genuinely try to help the world, for Aria's sake, with no means of revenge hidden behind it. But he was no fool. He couldn't save the world alone. He would need as much help possible!

But, he did not lie to himself… he needed any kind of help, but he desired his old comrades to be with him… it was just something familiar to him. He took a sigh and laid his head into his own pillow. "Maybe Aria was right… Maybe I need to just fully move on myself…" He tried to think of what the next move he should take would be. Go see Mercedes? Aran even? Maybe he could try to bond with Freud's successor… Choices choices…

Mercedes was working with Athena to get her town back on her feet, so visiting her probably wouldn't be too smart… Aran? Not with that memory issue. Phantom had no desire trying to explain to an honorable warrior that they were friends with a thief… And the boy? He barely knew him! Phantom sat up and scratched his head. "Ahhhh! This is all confusing. What do I do?"

He took a deep breath and formed two cards in his hands, looking at the images they carried. One was a beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair in a warm blue sky. She looked peaceful and happy, like nothing could go wrong where she was. The second card had a rather gentle looking man with his hand on a dragon, with a warm light emitted from behind. "Aria…. Freud… You two were able to trust a thief like me…" he tossed the cards on the ground and held his hand up to his eyes, "And now look where you stand…" He sat there, reflecting on the memories of before of the two, trying to find some sort of answer.

He couldn't rely on them anymore. They weren't around to do the hard part for him. He had to take these steps himself. Before, he was lucky enough to have trust handed to him, but now, it seemed like few people beyond Cygnus were even interested in trusting him. He didn't blame them. Never trust a thief, they say…

But right now, he couldn't be okay with it. He thought about Luminous and his predicament. Phantom tried to draw parallels between Luminous and his own previous lesson. Luminous was losing control from a curse, not because of petty lack of self-control, so who was he to judge? Well… no… Luminous must have SOMETHING that causes the curse to affect him to the extent it does… Phantom stood up. Pacing typically helped him think better.

"According to the notes Freud left behind on the Black Mage's magic, this curse is more of a power transfer skill that eventually overpowers the victim's own magical ability. It shouldn't drive them mad!... Or at least not to a different persona extent… not unless there was something about Luminous that embraced the power and desired to keep it." He thought, "I can't seem to recall him wanting to be evil or anything… Even while ranting at me about who knows what, he never showed a desire to be that sinster."

Phantom stopped and shook his head, "Wait, what am I doing?! Luminous doesn't want my help at all…" He sighed, "I guess I probably should consider seeing someone else… Maybe Mercedes could use my help or something…" he stopped to think, trying to envision what path would be best for him to take.

While thinking, a horrid image came into his head. The Luminous he faced in Ellinia that day… Oh the horror. He simply couldn't shake that away. The expressions he made, the remarks, everything! He really was nothing short of a complete monster that day… then it dawned on to him what he was trying to tell himself.

If he ignored Luminous and went elsewhere, Luminous would become that monster. Possibly forever. Phantom cringed at the thought. He couldn't turn anywhere else at the moment… right now, Luminous needed help and Phantom was possibly the only one that knew anything about it! He then wondered if Luminous had even bothered to tell Mercedes that he was alive. Phantom turned down and faced the two cards of Aria and Freud. He picked the up gently and looked at them, giving a soft smile. "I bet you two would feel rather let down if I gave up going this far in, wouldn't you?" he allowed the cards to vanished into shard of light before walking over to his dresser and looking at his hat.

"So far… I've been trying to be friendly with Luminous, thinking he'd open up eventually. No tricks, no stealth, nothing…" he set the hat on his head firmly and then pulled his mask down over his face, "I suppose at this point, playing a little game won't hurt, would it? After all, I don't think he's ever seen me act like the master thief I am!" Phantom boasted proudly. He was rather excited to act like his thief self again opposed to being the big hero. He hadn't done so since the Black Mage showed up into his life! "Let the show begin!" Phantom said before warping off of his ship .

Phantom warped back to the area where he left off before. The monsters still laid dead, although the "freshness" of the kill had worn and they were starting to rot. "Rather foul…" Phantom thought to himself before jumping ahead. Luminous was around here somewhere, he just had to find where…

He simply kept moving forward, finding a nice trail of monster bodies lying around. He was almost impressed by how much Luminous had taken down himself. The further and further he got, the more he began to think of a plan. His main trick would be stealth. Luminous, while fast with his teleportation, was still a mage. He lacked the keen sense to detect a thief of his degree. "My first job should be to gather information..." he thought to himself. Luminous wouldn't give it out willingly, but Phantom had his ways of gathering what he wanted. "Want my help or not Luminous, I'm not about to let you become something I have to fear."

He made his way across the area, looking for traces of where Luminous could have gone. He simply followed the path of the bodies and eventually found himself at the foot of the door of the arena. "The arena?" Phantom told himself. "Did he already make his way towards Xerxes?" Phantom jumped through the door and dashed around. At this point, the sight of the monsters was becoming a bit much for Phantom to study. There seemed to be nothing short of disaster all over the place! He listened closely, trying to see if there was anything hinting towards the direction he needed to go in...

His ears caught the sound of a faint cry. Phantom's eyes jumped open from behind his mask. "Hmm? That was... from the middle?" He vanished in a flash of cards, arriving not directly in the middle of the action, but close enough to study what was happening. Phantom's eyes snapped open wide at what he saw.

There was a giant sized goat in the middle of the arena, clearly in pain and crying out, trying to flee. On the other side, Luminous stood with a wicked smile on his face, his appearance had reverted back to his darker self.

"Ahh? Where's that boasting confidence of yours?" Luminous chuckled out before lashing chains across the back of Xerxes. "You seemed so confident before... what could have happened?"

Phantom watched from afar. He felt something, but he couldn't describe it. Was it guilt? Fear? He couldn't tell. He heard Xerxes cry out in pain as blood trickled down its back on to the ground. Phantom watched Luminous move in closer...

"Well, I'm getting bored of this." He charged up a massive amount of dark energy. "Be gone." He spoke coldly.

Phantom wasn't sure what got a hold of him. He was simply trying to watch from a distance to gather information, but this was too much. He flung a card at Luminous, quickly grazing his cheek. He jumped down and faced the mage with his mask still on.

Luminous raised his hand up to his face and noted the blood coming off of his face. He looked down at the card and sighed. "You know, you really lack manners. You could have waited your turn." Luminous growled while crushing Phantom's card with his foot.

Phantom stared straight at Luminous in the eyes. "Well?" He said out loud, he lowered his head towards Xerxes, "Run along shall you? You're not safe here…"

The goat looked at Phantom in shock, but took the moment to quickly flee. Luminous watched the goat flee the area and chuckled, "Ah, he was weak anyway…"

Phantom took his cane out, knowing exactly what was going to come next. Luminous had got the better of him last time, but he wasn't foolish enough to fall for the same trick twice. He would fight back.

Luminous turned around, "So you came back… was verbal abuse too light?"

Phantom said nothing. There was no point in talking to Luminous like this. He needed to think of a way to turn him back to normal. A way to calm him down or something…

Luminous chuckled a bit at his silence, "Not too talkative now, are we? Well, if you don't feel like chatting, I suppose I'll just have to take you in place of the kill I just lost."

Phantom felt sick hearing those words spoken with Luminous's voice. It was made worse that it really was Luminous saying that. He knew he had a temper of sorts, but he was never one to go this far…

Luminous lashed at Phantom with chains arising behind him. Phantom swiftly dodged them and jumped high in the air. He only had a limited amount of time before Luminous caused too much of a mess, so he needed to be quick. He flipped a card over and summoned multiple large cards. He shot them down at Luminous, trying not to hurt the body, but shake it up a bit. Luminous let out a laugh as he noted this and took it to his advantage. He teleported in front of Phantom, grabbed him by his throat and slammed him on the ground, leaving a small hole where his head landed. His grip tightened on the surface. Phantom's mask had fallen off in the impact and revealed a pained expression "Well, this should be good!" he laughed, "Watching you go slowly should be some kind of reward I guess!"

Phantom grabbed on to Luminous's arms. He had to pull them away or else he would run out of air! He used his arms as much as he could, but Luminous's grip didn't budge. Phantom realized his arms weren't going to help him much, so he used his legs. He kicked around a bit, grumbling while trying to break free, only to eventually kick the mage off of him. He rolled up and huffed loudly, letting the air reach his lungs. Sadly, Luminous was not one to wait. He charged at Phantom once again with his staff in hand. Phantom twirled out his cane and used it to barricade the blows of Luminous's staff. It was powerful… very powerful. For a mage, this guy could swing his staff around quite a bit! Phantom skidded back on the ground and looked up. He wasn't going to win this way! Luminous was much stronger than before! He looked around and noticed the seats. "Maybe I could use those…" Phantom thought. He jumped up and hid in the stadium seats. "He'll have to tear them all down if he wants to find me, and these seats are a bit big." He told himself behind the seats. He had to go in with a plan. Jumping right in wasn't working!

Luminous snarled a bit, "What, do you think THAT is going to help you? You're wasting my time…" A large black aura covered Luminous and he began to laugh loudly. "COME ON OUT, PHANTOM!" He yelled before letting a large amount of dark magic surge up from the ground.

Phantom jumped back. That attack… that was certainly an unforgettable move. "That's one of 'his' moves!" He told himself. He tried to think, but he didn't find time before another attack lashed up from the ground. Luminous really was going to destroy the place! Phantom didn't have much time on his side either… the attacks surged up like the ground madly. Phantom dodged debris and magic at the same time. He would let some of the rocks chip away at him if it meant avoiding that terrible magic. After a short while, Phantom had nowhere left to land except the center. He had to face Luminous once again, and he still had no plan. How could he confront Luminous like this?

He landed firmly and stared at Luminous. Luminous gave a smirk and straighten up a bit, "Finished running, coward?"

"I'm a thief. Running is my nature." Phantom remarked back. He tried to look and find a weak spot on Luminous, but he noticed something else instead. One of Luminous's eyes had gone back to being blue! Was… was he changing back? What could have happened that caused it? He wasn't acting any different, but any sign was a good thing! Phantom felt a bit of relief and turned his cane into a bow and held an arrow in Luminous's direction. "Luminous!" He yelled out. "Talk to me… Please… Just talk to me!" he asked, hoping that enough of Luminous had snapped out of whatever he was in to reason a bit.

"Talk?" Luminous winced a bit, "Why would I talk to some lowly wannabe hero?"

Phantom took a deep breath but held his position. He would just have to ignore that remark. "Why? Why do you get this way? I… I know it has to do with the curse, but… it shouldn't be THIS bad…"

Luminous raised his brows, "Huh? Oh no, the curse simply gave me the power I wanted. Nothing more than that. "

"The power you wanted?" Phantom shook his head, "You want that power?!"

"I'm okay with any kind of power." He chuckled. "But, the black mage was quiet powerful… Do you really think anyone could turn this kind of power away?"

Phantom was in a bit of shock. Luminous had become some kind of power hungry monster! This… this wasn't the Luminous he knew at all. "You know, Luminous, I didn't think you would be such a power hungry child…"

"Power hungry child, eh? I guess… I get my power; I take care of anything below me while clearing a path for the things that actually matter." He grinned, "Nothing's more annoying than having to watch your step for weaklings."

At this point, Phantom was in shock. Luminous… what he was saying… was he really this cold hearted? Did he really just not care about anything beyond power? Why? Why was it like this? He didn't understand. He could solve the most complex puzzles and forms of security, but this was far beyond him. He began to realize just how little of Luminous he actually understood.

Luminous charged at him again, "Well, you had your little talk, now disappear!" He slammed his staff into the ground and sent a massive amount of chains towards Phantom. Phantom jumped up and managed to dodge most of the chains, but one of the last ones managed to graze his leg, sending him on the ground. "Ughh!" he gripped his leg. Blood trickled down his fingers and he held to together to stop the bleeding. Phantom looked up. The mage was walking toward him slowly, showing no signs of sympathy. "This is it Phantom…" Phantom told himself. "This is your last chance…" He looked at Luminous's blue eye. It was oddly calming to him… Like a sign that Luminous was inside of the darkness fighting. Phantom fixed his gaze at Luminous's face overall and scorned a bit.

Luminous lowered himself to Phantom's eye level and lifted his head up with his hand. "You know Phantom, I have to hand it to you, you've been quiet useful." He gave a calmly sinister smile, "Without you, I don't think I would have been able to confirm how much stronger I have gotten. So thank you." He stood up and charged black magic into his hand, "But few things stay useful for long." He chuckled out.

Phantom waited… he waited and watched… there would be one moment… He knew this moment. Lotus had taken advantage of it with him, and Phantom felt desperate enough to use an enemy tactic on a friend in need. "I'm sorry, Luminous." He thought to himself, "I can't let you stay this way…."

Luminous lifted his arm up and threw it towards Phantom. Phantom took the instant to turn his cane into a dagger and stabbed Luminous right in the shoulder.

The air was still and quiet. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. Luminous slowly looked down and saw the dagger. He saw a small amount of blood move down the said dagger moments afterwards. At first he felt rage. Uncontrollable rage. But before it had a chance to settle, something snapped. Phantom pulled the dagger out and jumped back. Luminous fell back directly. His expression looked weary. He gave a last glance at Phantom before falling unconscious. Phantom stood over and watched for a bit to ensure it was okay to approach. He saw a large black aura cover over Luminous and then fade into the air, leaving Luminous on the ground as his usual, pure white self.

"Luminous!" Phantom yelled while running over to the mage. He rolled him over and shook him a bit. "Luminous? Luminous! Answer me! Luminous!"

The mage remained still. Phantom held his hand up to his face and felt breathing. He took a deep sigh and looked up at the sky. That was terrible… He looked at Luminous's shoulder and felt a deep amount of guilt. He did the right thing, right? He couldn't judge… all he knew was that he was alive.

"We should get that treated…" Phantom told Luminous. He stood up and wobbled a bit, "As well as my leg… owww…" Phantom whined. He looked around to see if he could find his mask. After a small look around, he found it on the ground next to a bright and clear gem. "Huh what's this?" Phantom picked it up. He looked at it carefully before letting his eyes sparkle, "Ahhh! It looks valuable~! I'm sure no one would mind if I kept this, right?" He thought out loud. He looked around at the ruined stadium. "…Y-Yes… Or I could just give it to the giants later and see if they want it…." He sighed, "Oh… I can't even properly steal these days." He said putting the stone in his pocket. "I'll be back once my leg heals up." He sighed. He walked over Luminous and laid his hand on the mage, "And you're coming with me whether you like it or not." Phantom remarked before vanishing back to his ship, leaving the arena a deserted mess.


	5. Chapter 5

The two appeared on Phantom's ship in a flashy show of cards. Phantom sort of held Luminous up from his non-bleeding arm, letting his feet drag across the deck. "You know, you're rather heavy…" he grunted, "You could probably lose a pound or two."

As he slowly made his way to the door, his bulter Gaston opened the door. "I welcome you back Mast—Hmm? Is that a guest?"

Phantom huffed, "Yes Gaston, although he's not exactly in the best of shape. " He looked over at Luminous's face. The man didn't seem to show any signs of pain in his sleep, but he wasn't sure how damaged his arm really was. He did just stab it after all. "Tell the maids to prepare a guest room immediately. "

With a bow, Gaston walked off firmly into the ship, leaving the door open for Phantom. Phantom sighed and continued to drag Luminous into the cabin of his ship.

After a short amount of time, the maid not only had the room prepared, they showed up to help Phantom escort Luminous, making note of Phantom's leg as well. "Don't worry about me." He said and he tapped his leg lightly, "It may be injured but at least I can say everything will be fine. He isn't responding to anything and we don't need him losing the ability to use his arm." The maid nodded and promised they would help Phantom afterwards.

Once Luminous was laid down, the three of them got to work on treating the wound. The smell of alcohol quickly flooded the room as they cleansed it out. Despite being unconscious, Luminous did make a few grunts about that. They sat him up as they carefully wrapped a bandage around the wound.

Phantom watched over this carefully, sitting down with his leg propped up on a leg rest. It was odd seeing Luminous being knocked out, but then again, he was almost certain it would hold true for any of the others. When he saw them in the past, they typically fought all out and refused to show any sign of a weakness, so to see any of them in this state was almost surreal.

The maids finished on Luminous and then Marguerite turned to Phantom. "Alright, your turn!" She chuckled.

"Eh? N-no! I'll be fine!" Phantom remarked nervously.

"You at least need to have it cleaned!" Marguerite remarked cheerfully holding up the first aid kit. "Wouldn't want to lose it to an infection, would you?"

Phantom sighed, "Oh this is going to hurt…"

"Don't be a child." She remarked while looking at his pants leg. "Ick… It's all torn and bloody. We can't have you wearing those anymore."

"But I like these pants!" Phantom whined.

"It won't take long for us to make another pair. You just can't wear these. Roll the leg up for now though!" She said.

The room was soon filled with whines and screams from Phantom as his leg wound was treated rather forcefully from his maids. He appreciated the concern but he would have much rather not be in pain than be treated.

After about fifteen minutes, The maids got up and began to leave to put the supplies up. Marguerite stood up and look at Phantom. "Alright, you should go change into casual clothes when you feel like getting up."

"NO!" Phantom whined, "I'm never going to walk again! You gave me alcohol poisoning!"

Marguerite sighed, "Oh you'll be fine." She looked over at Luminous, "I'm pretty sure he'll be fine too. It looks like whatever got him missed his nervous system. He's just going to be sore."

Phantom straightened out a bit and took a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good to hear…." He then returned to sulk, "But you didn't have to hurt my leegggg."

With a shake of her head, Marguerite left the room. Phantom looked at his cleanly bandaged leg and sighed, standing up and walking over to Luminous. The man was still out. "You know…" Phantom started up, "I bet Freud would be able to solve this whole situation easily." He shook his head, "Sadly he's not around anymore… And I barely know what to do, save what little notes from him we managed to find." Phantom slowly began to walk out to change his clothes like he was told. He looked at the floor, deep in thought, wondering if there really was anything he could do. Luminous had certainly gotten stronger that time, and next time? Next time, Phantom probably wouldn't be lucky. Luminous would make himself stronger, thus making his dark half even stronger and…

The whole situation was a mess.

Phantom threw on some casual clothing. Nothing too complex. A simple button down shirt and a loose pair of slacks. He didn't want anything tugging or rubbing against his leg at the moment, so it seemed like a best choice. He was then told he would have to wait about a day or two to have his regular clothes back to a presentable state. Although he was sad about this, he made no complaints. At the moment, he didn't have much else to do.

He heard a small noise. "Huh?" Phantom lifted his head up. Was that rain? He went up to a window in his room and looked outside. Sure enough, it was. Pouring down even. It wasn't stormy enough to threaten his ship, but any amount of rain was enough to bother him. He quickly closed the curtains and walked outside of his room. He needed to get his mind away from that. He had to move forward now, there was no going back.

He went back to the guest room with Luminous in it and sat in the chair as before. He dug around in his pocket and found the small gem from before. It was quiet pretty. It almost had some kind of a rainbow in it. He wasn't sure if it was the core or not, but he did feel it was too valuable to leave behind for it to be taken by something else. At least he could always give it back.

He smacked himself on the head, "Oh Phantom, you're a thief! What do you mean 'give it back'? Look at it!" He looked at its beauty once more before leaning back fully in the chair. "Ahh, but if they need this, it will be bad." He chuckled a bit to himself, "Heh… Oh Aria… I've fallen so much… I can't even steal these days." He began to think of when the last time he actually stole a treasure of any sort… from what he was able to gather from his head, the last time he went on a thief trip like that was… right before Aria died… Maybe it was a sign of some sort? Or had he just been too busy? He couldn't tell. All he knew is that the way it stood right now, he couldn't bring himself to do the very thing he was known for.

Just as he started to get tired of that thought, Luminous grunted a bit. Phantom jumped up a bit to see if maybe he was waking up? Luminous slowly opened his eyes and blinked a bit. Phantom looked over him and made a quick note of their color. Both of them were blue for now. He relaxed a bit.

Luminous on the other hand, jumped right up upon realizing he was awake. He stared quietly ahead of him and looked around then noticed Phantom. "Where am I?"

Phantom chuckled, "On board my ship. You needed some first aid so I took you here. Hope you don't mind."

Luminous blinked, "First aid? What?" He looked at his body and noticed the bandages wrapped around his shoulder. Then a huge stiff soreness settled in with his arm. He winced a bit in pain but took a deep breath and relaxed. He looked at Phantom again and tried to think of what would have caused him to get this…

He remembered having Phantom leave. He ran to get the prism before his darkness took over. And then… Well, he figured his darkness took over because he couldn't remember what happened after that. Then that would mean that… Luminous looked at Phantom, "How much did you see?"

"Well I've got a nice cut on my leg from our little scuffle. " Phantom remarked.

Luminous's face grew sour. He had seen it. He knew. Now what?

Phantom sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. The room did get rather tense pretty quickly… "So… would you like some water or something?" Phantom asked, trying to break the tension in the air.

Luminous closed his eyes, "I want to leave."

Phantom looked at Luminous. "Leave? Already?"

"Yes, already. Where's my shirt at?" Luminous asked, looking around for it.

"Well my maids have it." Phantom remarked.

"Maids?" Luminous asked in surprise. "Since when did you have maids? Since when did you allow people on your ship? You hardly let Freud on it in the past…"

Phantom shrugged, "Ah, I suppose I got with the times. The place was a disaster when I woke up."

Luminous shook his head, waving the topic off. "So how long until I get my shirt back?"

Phantom looked at his bandages, "Well a good starting point will be when you can stop bleeding. They took it for repair AND cleaning, so it'd be a bit redundant to get it back now."

Luminous glanced at his shoulder and saw the blood seeping through slowly. He huffed, "So I'm taking it not tonight then…"

Phantom laughed, "Ah, it's raining outside anyway." His face grew rather depressed as he lowered his voice, "I'd rather not go outside at all right now…"

He wanted to ask about the sudden change in tone, but Luminous felt it was safer to keep quiet. Phantom looked kind of upset about the topic. So now what? He couldn't leave, Phantom probably wouldn't leave him alone, and he already knew "those" questions were coming… he decided to bite the bullet and just get it out of the way. "Go ahead, say what you want to say."

"Huh?" Phantom perked his head up, "What I want to….?"

A sharp glare came from Luminous, "You saw it, right? Any comments or questions on the matter?"

Phantom raised a brow at the sudden topic change. Luminous seemed to be… fairly open about it at the moment. "You really want me to ask?"

"Tch, as if I know. I may not give you everything, but I suppose you deserve something." He remarked in a rather annoyed tone. He hated having to be in debt to Phantom of all people, but Phantom did help him out and got hurt in the process.

"Then I only have one question… Why did you lie to me about having your darkness under control?" Phantom asked.

Luminous looked dead ahead. That question… it wasn't one he wanted to answer. Not truthfully. He couldn't say it. Not to Phantom… "Because I didn't care to let you in on my personal matter." Luminous remarked. It was sort of truthful, but it was certainly not the whole story.

"But why?" Phantom asked. "Do you just not like me that much? I mean, if you wanted someone else to help you, you could have asked. I could have easily gotten someone else to help you out…"

"No one needs to be involved in this. This is my personal battle and mine alone." Luminous remarked.

Phantom sighed. He figured. The one question he wanted to ask and he could tell Luminous was going to be difficult about it. "But… Can you win this battle alone?"

Luminous laid down on his bed and turned around, "Dunno." He said sternly. "I'm trying to make myself stronger by findin—!" Luminous's eyes widened. "The prism!" He yelled out, he looked at Phantom with a serious face, "Phantom, in the arena, did you see any sort of rainbow light gem or something?" He spoke quickly.

"Hmmm?" Phantom thought. He dug in his pocket and pulled the gem from earlier out, "Do you mean this?"

"Yes! That! Hand it over!" Luminous demanded.

Phantom chuckled, "Ask nicely~!"

Luminous let out a slight growl, "Phantom, that doesn't belong to you to begin with!"

"No but I was the one that picked it up!" He remarked.

Luminous huffed. There really wasn't a way for Phantom to just give it to him. He would have to swallow his pride for once and ask Phantom NICELY. "Phantom." He started, "Can I PLEASE have my prism back?"

Phantom smiled and handed it over to Luminous carefully. "Here you go. Be careful not to drop it next time."

"I didn't drop it. I was looking for it." Luminous said while setting it next to his bed.

"Oh?" Phantom asked, "Why?"

Luminous looked at the crystal. "It might have enough power to help me balance out my light and darkness powers. Once my light powers are strong enough… I should be able to shove this darkness out."

"You're trying to shove it out by force?" Phantom asked.

"Would want to deal with this?" Luminous responded.

Phantom took a moment to process this in his head. Something was going off and he couldn't place quiet what it… oh… wait… He took a deep sigh, "And you call me an idiot…." He sighed out.

"What?" Luminous asked, "What do you mean?"

Phantom stood up, "Luminous, no wonder this curse has such a heavy hold on you. You're losing at a game that your dark half is just better at."

Luminous blinked a few times, "What? You're not making any sense…."

"You're trying to solve this scenario with power. Of the two sides of you, which one do you think naturally has more power?" he started waving his hand around, "it's that 'similar thing' you two halves have in common. You both seek power. Be it for different reasons, the main point is still there, so any time you start to fell weak or powerless, it can easily grab hold you and take over." Phantom thought back to his little revenge game. He learned that it was never wise to play a dark game with a dark force.

"Great…" Luminous laid back on his pillow, "What now then? …Give up? Do I just submit and keep fighting? Or do I just quit here…"

"That's a rather black and white way of seeing things." Phantom remarked, "Why not try mastering the dark forces you have? I'm sure you'd find them useful if you can use them…"

"Use the Black Mage's power, Phantom are you mad?" Luminous asked.

Phantom shrugged, "I suppose. But it's better than you giving up."

Luminous sighed a bit more out of frustration. Use both powers? Use the Black Mage's powers? The idea seemed crazy, if not impossible. "Whatever." He said as he laid down. "I'm going to sleep. I can't leave and I'm tired of talking."

Phantom's face saddened a bit. Just when he thought he was finally getting through to Luminious… "I see… Well… you shirt should be repaired by dawn. If you want to leave then, feel free to." Phantom said as he got up and headed towards the door. He turned the light off and looked behind him, facing the back of Luminous. "Luminous…" Phantom spoke in a serious tone. It was much like his old tone, back when he truly was a master thief. "Just know this… I don't want you to become our enemy. I want you to stay with us. "He said before shutting the door and heading out.

Luminous laid there for a moment. Letting what Phantom said sink in. "Stay with you guys?" Luminous muttered out. "How…? I'm like a ticking bomb… I'll set off at any moment…" He rolled his head into the pillow and tried to drain his pain away into it, clenching his fist. "There's no way…"

He lifted his head up and looked at his clenched fist. He slowly turned it and faces its sweaty palm. It was clear that he was shaking.

The truth that he couldn't say. The truth that he knew but could not tell… It was that he was scared. He was scared of losing himself. Scared of what he would do. Scared of who he would hurt. He laid his face back into the pillow and slammed his fist against the bed, taking a few deep breaths to hold himself together. He couldn't be weak. Not right now. He needed to be strong or else…!

Or else what? If he wanted to be stronger, his dark half could take care of that for him. He couldn't be strong, he couldn't be weak, and he could just barely be at all. He thought about the times he woke up from being dark and seeing the faces of death around him. He thought of going back and seeing Lania laying against a tree, stiff as a rock, he thought and felt horrible things come up to him. Luminous knew this would be the monster he would become. Someone that would do these things and simply feel no remorse for that which he killed. He looked at his hand once again, accepting his position with a sad cry. He couldn't do this alone. He had tried and he failed. He huffed, trying to keep a hold of himself, but he couldn't help it. He was just scared.

"Please help me…" He spoke quietly in a shaky voice, hoping that some heard him and wishing no one did at all. "I don't want to be that way…" He clenched his fist and buried his face into his pillow, letting sleep somehow reach through the fear and give him some value of peace.

The next morning came rather quickly. Phantom received the fixed clothes first thing. "Good job!" He grinned, much happier that the rain had passed. He walked over to Luminous's room and found him sleeping face into the pillow. "Augh?!" Phantom flinched, "Luminous! You're going to be bleeding still!"

Luminous slowly opened his eyes. He instantly noticed it was lighter, so he assumed it was already dawn. He got up, forgetting his dominate arm was a little sore, "Augh!" he fell back on the mattress. He turn a shade of red before using his other arm to get up, "What was that?"

"Well, it doesn't look THAT bad… I sure am glad they put plastic on that bed though, that mattress is expensive!" Phantom remarked.

"Uh? The mattress?" Luminous looked and saw a huge blood stain where his arm was. "Oh… Sorry." He said blandly. He was still half asleep and still in a strange mindset. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, trying to recall what he was told last night. He took a deep breath and relaxed after recapping his location and such. He looked at Phantom and saw his clothes neatly hanging on a hanger. "Did they already fix them?"

"Hmmm?" Phantom held the hanger up, "Oh yes, they're quite good at what they do!...Well they should be for what they're paid, they're making a NICE SALARY."

Luminous's face drew an expression of disbelief. This guy… "You're probably paying them with dirty cash."

Phantom laughed, "Oh Luminous, at this point, most of my cash is considered free for all. Do you know how long it's been sitting in this ship?"

Luminous rolled his eyes. So it was stolen… Of course. "Look, I'll be fine, can I have my shirt back now?"

Phantom laughed and tossed it his way. "Try to put on clean bandages first. You're so obsessed with getting such a simple shirt back…"

"That's because it's the only one I have on me. SOME of us don't have the luxury of having our homes follow us in the sky." Luminous said.

Phantom whined a bit, "That's rather sad. Where do you sleep?"

"None of your business." Luminous sighed himself. He looked down at his shirt and saw it was repaired rather nicely. It was fully clean too. "They did a pretty good job…" He said.

Phantom smiled, "Of course! I only get the best of the best!"

"I bet you don't know the first thing about sewing." Luminous remarked. Phantom just struck him as unbelievably lazy at the moment.

"Ah, I let others take care of that~!" Phantom cheerfully spoke. The two remained quiet for a bit before Phantom took on a serious yet still optimistic tone. "So tell me, Luminous… Do you still want to leave? If you want to, I'll have you down after breakfast."

Luminous looked up from his shirt and looked at Phantom. He looked back down at his shirt and tried to think of a way to phrase what he wanted to say. It wasn't easy for him, but right now, he had to accept that Phantom was the only one that knew of his darker self. At the moment, he was possibly the only choice he had in getting any help.

"If you want someone that isn't a THIEF, I can call Mercedes or something. You know she'll help you right out. I would consider Aran but there are some problems there and—"

"No…" Luminous said out loud, "They don't need to know. Not now anyway…"

Phantom sulked a bit, "You're not going to seek any help?"

Luminous stayed quiet. How could he put this? Was he really about to trust a thief to help him get himself together? Was he really about to put any value of trust in Phantom? He simply wore a rather irritated look on his face.

Phantom chuckled because he could almost relate with that expression. He gave that expression to Freud in the past when he needed to ask Freud for favors… which was usually to send a message around to one of the other heroes, as none of them really seemed too fond of him. He simply waited to see if Luminous would crack and say it or make himself sick by trying to think of way to say it.

After a small moment, Luminous sighed, "Okay, I'm only going to say this once, so don't even try to make me repeat it." He turned around and sat his feet on the floor, he slowly stood up and walked up to Phantom and held his hand out, "Do you think it is possible that you can help me find a way to control this curse?"

Phantom looked down at Luminous's hand. Was he being serious? He looked back up at Luminous, "W-Well…"

Luminous continue, "A maybe isn't going to cut it, Phantom. I need a yes or no answer."

Phantom almost felt like he was in a parallel world. A dream even. Was Luminous actually showing some sort of nice side to him? He looked at his hand one more time and gave his usually confident smirk, "Of course I can help you out. I'm a master of information!" he said as he took a hold of Luminous's hand.

Luminous took his hand back quickly and walked back to his bed. "Good. With that said. " he turned around and waved his hand, "Get out, I need to change these bandages and put my shirt on."

Phantom sighed on the inside. Even when Luminous was being nice to him, he was still rude. "So demanding…" He whined as he walked out. He shut the door behind him and wore a bright smile on his face. He twirled his hand up and created his two favorite cards. "Well, I suppose this can help me move on a bit more now." He spoke to them. The images of Freud and Aria seemed to be rather bright themselves. "Don't worry…" he sighed, "I may move forward, but I'll still carry your dreams with me." He said. "The dream for that peaceful world…"


	6. Chapter 6

The next month or so was a rather eye opening experience for Luminous over all. He had finally given in and accepted help from Phantom, possibly the last man he would ever expect to turn to, and as a result, ended up remaining on his ship as part of "his training". And of course, by "his training" Luminous meant his. Phantom was supposed to have his own schedule going on, but he somehow always went missing approximately ten minutes before it began. Gaston would constantly go wandering about to look for his master in hopes that he could be dragged off to training. And of course, Phantom would show up about ten minutes after it was scheduled to end as well. Luminous had no idea where the man hid, and he didn't even bother to know.

"You know, for someone trying to help another man train, you seem to skip it frequently yourself." Luminous remarked on evening.

"Oh don't be silly~! A thief's training is done best as actual experience, none of this set up, predictable stuff!" Phantom retorted.

Luminous shrugged. He really wasn't one to judge how a thief did and did not train. It just struck him as odd that a man helping him train hardly trained himself. But this wasn't the only thing he noted…

When Luminous had decided to accept Phantom's help, he had almost feared that Phantom would be the sort of thief that would be constantly planning his next steal or bragging about his previous ones, but to his experience, Phantom really didn't boast his treasures nearly as much as he boasted his own ego. He didn't even make any remarks about planning on stealing anything. He simply made his "master thief" claims and moved on to being quiet… lazy.

He was almost shocked by how lazy Phantom was on his ship. He would loaf around on his bed and whine about being bored, but as soon as training was suggested, he would be off to check in on his secretaries, or check one of his hide outs, or something along those lines. Very odd things.

In short, Phantom was a lot more childish than Luminous had ever imagined. Maybe it was due to the timing of how they met in the past, but Luminous had never once thought that Phantom would act like this. It was shocking to him personally. His crew didn't seem to help much on maturing the thief, except for Gaston, but even then, Gaston seemed to just work as the anchor for Phantom that clung him down to some level of maturity, not really teaching Phantom how to simply grow up. However, despite being a thief, his crew seemed to adore their 'boss'. They loved his flamboyant personality and cheerful perks. They enjoyed how easy it was to talk to him when they needed it, and most of all, they seemed to find great respect in Phantom's kindness towards them. They couldn't see it all the time due to Phantom constantly running around and about, but when it showed, it showed.

It made him sick. Sick to his stomach. There was, in no way shape or form, this man could ever be any kind of a hero! He didn't take anything seriously at all and quite frankly, it was slowly pissing Luminous off. Luminous was raised in a way where one would always have to take their role in life seriously, so he learned early on in life the importance of not goofing around, whereas Phantom seemed to live by this life style. On his ship, few things were taken seriously by the thief himself. His crew was just as carefree and… the whole thing just filled his body with anger.

Luminous proceeded with his own training. It was simple little excercises for him to refine his light skills, hoping that he could still force the dark out if he made his light stronger. "As if I'd take that thief's advice." Luminous thought. "Use the black mage's power as well as my own? What does he think is going to happen?" He threw light energy towards a few of the practice dummies. "I'll just be able to use them both with no problem? If I even touch that guy's magic then…" He shivered. He could only recall fuzzy memories of what happened when he lost control like that, and none of them seemed to pretty. Luminous realize he was getting worked up like this. He just needed a moment to calm down. He walked over to a nearby wall and sat his staff against it, before sitting down on the floor and relaxing a bit, trying to empty his thoughts out.

Sadly, Phantom's secretaries weren't familiar enough with how the old language worked, which meant Phantom and Luminous were the only two that could read through Freud's notes, but considering how old they were, it was a bit hard to work out. Phantom took on the job of reading through them a few nights a week and would be up until early in the morning looking over everything. So it wasn't like Phantom wasn't trying at all. He just probably didn't have an idea of where to start. Of course, figuring how the man behaved, that came as no surprise. Maybe he was growing impatient. He was nervous. He wanted to find a way to stop the dark magic before it controlled him again. If it grabbed him on a ship with people on it thousands of feet in the air… That would be bad. Really bad. Phantom was the only one that would have any chance of stopping him, but the others… He didn't want to risk it. Luminous sat up and walked over to the book keep where Phantom kept Freud's notes. They were rather vague over all, as he didn't exactly study the Black Mage's magic for a cure, but for simple observational purposes. He grabbed them gently and looked over them. It was obvious these notes were written well before the Black Mage became the full terror he was, as it seemed to be a bit more in depth, almost as if Freud was able to experience this magic first hand or something. "What was he trying to pull?" Luminous thought as he flipped through the pages. The seemed to be a key question that, while it did not help Luminous, it did seem to peak his interest. What use would the black mage have for using this sort of magic anyway? Black Magic like this was a taboo back then. He knew this too well. His village that had specialized in light magic had always put great emphasis on the taboo of dark magic, calling it horrid and vile.

Luminous set the notes down and chuckled a bit. "Feh… If my village saw me now, I wonder what they'd think…" He took a small breath and thought. Beowan was kind enough to help him get through the struggle of fighting against the darkness in him, giving him tips and advice on how to get through and keep himself in check. Had Beowan never stepped in, Luminous would have probably still been a reckless murder machine. He had to hand it to him, for being a ghost; the man looked out for Luminous quite a bit. He was really grateful for this fact. He was actually grateful for quite a bit. He just never stopped to realize how lucky he was. He still had a chance at keeping himself. He just needed to be careful.

Later that night, Phantom and Luminous sat down and ate a rather fancy fish dinner. Luminous had always thought Phantom's taste were rather over the top, but he could deal with it. A meal was a meal. "You know, I realized something today. The halls would look much better with a bit of color in them… Maybe like… red or something like that." He remarked.

"I suppose. The ship itself is fairly white." Luminous responded back. He found Phantom's topics rather odd at times. The man didn't seem to talk much about the past or present occurrences, but rather silly notices and findings. Luminous wondered if maybe Phantom was nervous to talk about it because of their past standing on each other or something else. He never said anything though. He just listened and replied. Truth be told, he didn't care about the color of his ship or any of his little findings. He only cared about getting rid of this curse. That was it.

Phantom went into the book keep later that night and began to take out Freud's notes and a few other findings. "Ah, one day I need to teach Colette how to read these books or something. She would be much faster at finding information that I." He sighed out. He set the notes on the table and began to think of where he currently stood as far as progress went. "The curse was meant to be a way to transfer powers from one to another. It would spread darkness around and depending on the corrupted one, it would have various effects." Phantom looked at some of the former victims of the curse. "Some would have dark powers to use freely, others would be controlled and become monsters with it." He rolled his eyes. "And of course Luminous is the latter case… So how did the others have control over it?"

Luminous walked in after Phantom's little self-chat. He looked over Phantom's shoulder. "Anything interesting?"

Phantom sighed, "Not yet. I'm looking up biographies of those that were also corrupted and my research has shown that it is not impossible to gain control over the black magic, but it isn't clearly stated how they did it… it's like… they just did."

Luminous sat down in an empty chair and quietly huffed, "Well, good for them."

Phantom let out a weak chuckle, not quiet knowing how to respond to that. He went back to the notes and looked at them. "Maybe we could find some kind of connection of some sort? I don't see anything that would stand out from here though…"

Luminous sat and listened to Phantom rummage through the paper work. He took a breath and decided to discuss with Phantom what he came for. "Phantom…Listen… I understand you're working hard on a rather… scarce subject, however…" Luminos took a small breath and looked at his own hand, "I fear I might be running short on time again…"

"Huh?" Phantom looked up, "What do you mean?"

Luminous looked at Phantom, "It's been awhile since the darkness got out, Phantom…" He sighed, "I can feel it crawling out slowly… It's only a matter of time before it takes over again." Leaning in the chair, he tried to relax a bit. This wasn't exactly easy for him to admit either.

Phantom's eyes grew concerned. He tried to think, "Well think you just don't need to train and you can just sit around and…"

"Phantom…" Luminous interrupted, "It doesn't matter. I've tried 'resting' before. I rested for years and all that happened was it sat for years on its own before forcing its way out, and when that happened, it took quite a bit to snap be back out of it." He stood up, "That's why I am asking you to let me leave your ship. I understand it's a place where you can keep tabs on me, but it's also thousands of feet in the air with defenseless servants of yours on board." He walked up close to Phantom, looking him dead in the eyes, "We cannot take that risk. Not even for my sake."

Phantom looked down at the desk and then back at Luminous. What was he supposed to say? He didn't exactly want Luminous to leave, as Phantom had his resources on his ship and he could keep an eye on his darkness, but Luminous had a point. Someone would surely end up dead if he lost control on board that ship, if not everyone. Phantom sighed, "Alright." He submitted, "Anywhere you may want to go?"

Luminous thought for a bit. He wanted to go somewhere quiet. Some place where he could be alone. He knew his dark self would probably seek out enemies, but if Luminous could get far enough… No… he knew there would be no point in running like that. His mind settled on a place. A familiar place. "I'd like to go to Victoria…"

Phantom thought. Why would Luminous want to return the—It hit him. Luminous didn't have much at all. He didn't have anything there… What he did have on Victoria though, was memories and some value of a home. The very place he had destroyed. Why he wanted to go back there was beyond him, but he wasn't going to question it. Luminous probably wouldn't answer anyway. He was far too aloof to discuss personal feelings and attachments. "Very well. I will see that we are around Victoria within an hour…"

An hour passed and Luminous and Phantom stood on the deck of Phantom's ship. The moon shined brightly in the back, giving a soft blue tint to everything. "Heh… This is odd…" Phantom remarked, "For once, I think I might actually be sad to see you go."

"I'm fairly indifferent." Luminous remarked. He wasn't quite sure how to feel with Phantom. When he first encountered him years ago, he felt nothing but disgust for a man that made his living off of stealing and low tricks. He refused to have anything to do with him. Years later, he found that same thief being the only one that would work to help him. "…..Phantom… I have a question…"

Phantom raised his brows up. "Hmm?" The breeze of Victoria's shores swept across the deck with a slight force, letting Phantom know they were close.

"Why would you…. Why DID you stick around?" Luminous asked. It had really confused him. He and Phantom had a bitter relationship in the past, so why the change? "You weren't like this before…"

Phantom shrugged and laughed a bit. "Time passes and people change. It's all about moving forward, I guess. I have learned that staying still for too long can get you into some trouble."

"Heh… Is that so?" Luminous remarked. People changing? Well, Luminous certainly fell under that category, but he wasn't sure if the change was good or not.

After a bit of time, the ship stopped. Luminous walked up to the top part of the deck and turned around and faced Phantom. "You sure this is gonna work?"

"Works for me!" Phantom remarked calmly.

Luminous took a deep breath and relaxed a bit. He looked down at the ground. It was odd leaving the ship. It had actually started to feel very comfortable and familiar to him. Like another home almost. But he couldn't stay… He felt the dark feelings inside of his swirl, telling him to sit back and stay, to let him give it easy targets. He had already ruined one home before, and he was not going to let himself destroy another one...

Phantom pulled a blank card out and twirled it, "I supposed I could always come check in on you every so often… Just to be safe."

Luminous felt a strange bit of comfort in those words. He didn't see Phantom as a thief or as an annoyance. He actually was starting to see him as a genuine ally. "Tch…My home town would think I've gone mad… Well… I suppose I have…" Luminous thought to himself. "That would good." Luminous told Phantom. "Although…" He started . He looked up at the moon shining in the sky, "If the me you know now isn't there…"

"I'll just beat sense into you again." Phantom remarked strongly. He didn't want Luminous to think he was weak after all.

"What if… What if you can't?" Luminous remarked quietly. It was his fear. His biggest fear would be that he would lose himself and become someone entirely different, being completely unaware of the change.

Phantom took note of Lumious's reaction. It was rather heavy just to look at. "…I'll find a way." Phantom assured.

Luminous wanted to protest, but he felt it was pointless. Phantom was already sure that he could pull Luminous out anytime he wanted. Luminous hoped that this was true, even though he strongly doubted it. "Well, in that case, I guess I should be off…"

Phantom gave a rather confident grin, "Don't worry, I'm not going to stop any research here. I'll just fill you in or something."

Luminous gave a slight nod. Phantom threw the card he was twirling up in the air and with a flash and strong winds, Luminous was gone.

Phantom stared at where the mage once stood a bit more, almost as if he was still there, but he knew that Luminous was probably already on ground.

His heart felt heavy. It felt painful. He let out a slight sobbing noise before landing on the wooden deck. This pain was new to Phantom, but he was all too familiar with the pain it would bring. If nothing changed and everything progressed as it was now, Luminous would possibly die, if not worse…

"This…" Phantom remarked weakly, letting his strong façade fall apart. "This isn't fair…" He sobbed out. "I already paid a price with two of my dearest treasures, did I not?" He clenched his fist, "Why? Why is it everyone I turn to for trust is destined to fall down this path?!" he tried to look for an answer. He tried to think. He stood up and looked at the moon with a fierce look, "Is this your idea of a game?! Just letting karma play me as some kind of fool at EVERY TURN?!" He yelled at the sky. "Every single turn…" He repeated quietly. Looking down at his hands, he formed his cards with Aria and Freud on it. "I don't get it. I've changed, right? I'm working for the greater good, am I not? Then… why? Why am I… Why is those around me…?" He dissolved the cards into light and sighed. "What's the point of moving on if nothing changes?" He thought a bit over the situation. He was powerless. There wasn't a thing he could do.

…No… No, he could do something. This new pain… it was a forewarning of what would come, not that it had come! He still had some time! He just needed to look carefully, look harder. He could do something and prevent this; he just had to apply himself. "Alright." He told himself, "No more Mister slacker, I need to work if I plan on fixing any of this." He walked off towards his cabin door, taking one last look at where Luminous once stood. "Hang on a little bit longer… I'll fix this."

Down on Victoria, Luminous looked around carefully. He was familiar with the island to an extent, but he had to make sure he at least knew how to get home… "I don't think I'm too far…" He said to himself. He figured he could just keep moving and he would probably be at his destination by tomorrow afternoon… or later today. He wasn't sure what hour it was, but it was important that he get to somewhere quiet before the monsters and people started to stir around. He could feel the darkness in him clawing at his chest, like some vicious tiger swiping its paw outside of its cage.

Luminous looked up to see if he could see the moon, but he noticed a lot more clouds than usual. "Hmm? Is it going to rain?" Luminous thought to himself. Shrugging about it, Luminous walked on forward.

The walk home was a bit tiresome. He wondered if he should have considered resting before making the trip, but when he considered it, the painful lash of darkness would remind him of why he wasn't too comfortable sleeping in the first place. He had to be awake to keep that in check. Luminous also tried to avoid fighting… He just needed to stay calm. Right now wasn't a good time for him to do much beyond this. He just needed to isolate himself and hope that his darker self wouldn't try to run about too far.

He was thinking on the way back. He was thinking of a way to keep everything intact, a way to keep himself sane. He wasn't strong enough to force the darkness back and keep it under wraps… He was basically a puppet for it. It would let him walk around and play his little game for a bit before taking control and having him act out on its behalf, all for the sake of flaunting its power. How was he supposed to stop something if he wasn't even around when it was out? How was he supposed to control something stronger than him? How could he grab his own strings and get the darkness to do what he wanted? It baffled him, but tried not to get too much into it. The confusion worked him up far too much.

He looked up at the sky and noticed it getting darker. It wouldn't be long now until the rain settled in and started to pour, but the good news was that he wasn't too far off from home. He could probably beat it. He walked on, slowly quickening his pace.

Luminous had reached a rather ugly part of the forest. There was wreckage and disaster all around, with no orderly sense of nature around. The grey sky didn't help either. It was dark and ugly. Luminous cringed as he realized this ugly part of the woods was once called his "home". It used to be beautiful like the rest of the woods, until that horrid day. Oh, how he wished he could suppress that day and pretend it never happened…

He got up closer to his house and felt a familiar presence. "Hmm?" He looked around a bit, trying to find what it was… "Beowan?"

Beowan's ghost appeared in front of Luminous, "Luminous! There you are!" He said in his ghostly state, "Luminous, can you feel it?"

Luminous blinked, "Feel what?" He had been so distracted by the carving pains of his inner darkness that he didn't note any external pains. Luminous could easily fight all of the monsters in the forest anyway…

Beowan waved his staff around, "Luminous, this is serious! I am picking up on strong dark forces up ahead!"

"Dark… Forces?" Luminous repeated, "Are you sure it's not just some remains of… when…"

"No, Luminous, this different. This is NEW. Something dark is crawling around here! I was hoping to find it myself but it seems like it insist on staying hidden from me. Almost as if it knows I'm here…"

Luminous thought for a moment… "What kind of dark forces would be around here?" He couldn't get an answer. He shook his head, "Wait here Beowan."

"Alright. If you need anything, just yell out." Beowan agreed with ease.

"Heh." Luminous laughed. If he yelled out, it would probably be because of the darkness taking over, which made Beowan's words feel like some kind of a sick joke, even though he probably didn't even mean it that way.

Walking up ahead, Luminous took a deep breath. He didn't know what was going on, he wasn't in a state to deal with too much, and the whole thing was making him feel worse than he did.

"The forces of darkness… it's getting stronger…" He told himself as he walked on. It was clear to him that whatever he was dealing with here wasn't usually around to begin with…

He stopped walking. There was something about this darkness. Something familiar. He felt a huge pit form in his stomach. Something he couldn't bear with right now. "….This…. This can't be…."

"Luminous…!" A voice yelled.

Luminous's eyes snapped open and he looked around. That voice… No doubt about it, that voice was hers… it was Lania's voice! But where?! "Lania? Lania!" he yelled out.

"Luminous!" Her voice yelled back, "Please… go! Run Luminous!"

Luminous stepped forward, "What? Why?!"

Lania stepped out from behind the trees. Her skin was sickly pale and her eyes were completely empty. The way her body was being held looked as if it were being forced up by something.

"Lania!" Luminous yelled out. Why was she here? What was going on?

"Ahhh!" She yelled out. Luminous tried to run forward to help her. He wanted to help her. He hated seeing her this way. "Luminous no!" She yelled "Luminous…. Ahhh!" She yelled as a black magic engulfed around her.

"Lania!" Luminous yelled out. It was no use. He couldn't even see her in the black magic. "The magic is growing around Lania?!" Luminous thought to himself, "…Is there a way to change her back?!" Luminous thought hopelessly.

The black magic subsided and Lania stood in front of Luminous again, her posture was much more concrete, as she stood with a chilling smile on her face. Chains wrapped around her body and her eyes gave an eerie glow. She chuckled, "Luminous, for my lord the Black mage, you must die…" She spoke calmly.

"Black Mage?!" Luminous said out loud before having Lania lash chains out at him. Luminous didn't want to fight her. He couldn't bring himself to do so. He simply teleported out of the way quickly. "Lania!" he yelled, hoping he could snap her out of whatever got a hold of her.

In his efforts to call out to Lania, he was reminded that he needed to be careful himself. He felt a strong pulse from the darkness inside of him. Stronger than usual. Was it because of this dark magic? He didn't know what caused it, but he felt it. It sent him straight on his knees. "Ughh!"

Lania laughed, "What's wrong Luminous? Why are you acting so weak?"

Weak nothing, Luminous felt the darkness surfacing. He was all too familiar with the process that he went through when it took over by this point. It started off with his eye changing red, then came horrid pain, after that…

After that were those horrible, hideous, despicable thoughts that Luminous felt ashamed to ever have inside of his head…

"She's no different from a monster now."

"Kill her."

"Are you going let that weakling toss you around when you can snap her neck?"

Luminous grabbed his head in frustration. "No!" He yelled out. He couldn't bear it. He had killed Lania before… did he really have to go through the pain a second time?! Did he really have to wake up and find her body again? He couldn't do it… He couldn't bear the thought of anything like it. So why were these thoughts flooding into his head, repeating themselves over and over?

Lania raised her hand up, "Die for my Lord!" She yelled and sent more chains flying towards Luminous.

Luminous looked up and managed to teleport away just in time. He rose to his feet after jumping to safety. He saw it wrapping around him. The dark magic inside of him was leaking out, wrapping itself around him, trying to consume his mind and control his body. It felt odd to look at it… he had never gotten to the point of seeing it go this far.

Lania laugh and looked at Luminous, "How long can you go like this, coward?"

Luminous felt a rather cocky laugh escape him, "Coward? I'm far from it…" He took a deep breath and grabbed at his throat, trying to control himself. He watched the darkness sink into him, slowly turning his white robes into a dark shade of black. At this point, he was practically already consumed by the darkness, his last bit of sanity, his last bit of hope, being that his opponent was Lania herself. No matter how much pain it put him in, no matter how tired he was, he refused to let his darkness take over him again. He refused to hurt Lania again. But what could he do? The vile thoughts in his head were screaming various things, all yelling for him to kill her. He tried to shake it off and found himself kneeling on the ground again, realizing he was practically choking himself.

"Oh?" Lania chuckled, "That's a much more suiting color for you. I wonder if my Lord would like that." Lania walked up to Luminous. "You shouldn't fight against the darkness. It's going to win eventually."

Luminous looked at Lania. There had to be a way to stop this. He just needed to find out how he could get this under control. He wasn't strong enough to fight back. He could accept this. He could accept it and it still tried to control him. He tried to think, tried to make a conclusion…

Then for some reason, he recalled Phantom's words that night… "… I don't want you to become our enemy. I want you to stay with us."

Luminous felt the same. He didn't want to become some crazy killing machine. He didn't want to hurt people recklessly. He didn't want to be anything like THAT MAN, and still, STILL, he was turning into him! He tried to focus on that thought with Phantom, trying to wash out the screams that the darkness placed inside of his head. "That idiot…." He grumbled as he stood up. Standing up turned out to be very difficult. Luminous couldn't even stand up straight. He had to use his staff for support. Taking deep breathes and focusing on Phantom's words, he managed to relieve the smallest amount of pain from the curse, but he knew it was only temporary.

Lania jumped back, "Being resistant? Well, if you insist…." She charged up a large amount of Black magic, "I'll just kill you off!"

Luminous stood there and watched. He watched, but he couldn't process what was going on. His head was fuzzy and he was tired. He was lost and confused. He simply had no answers.

…No… He had an answer… a choice he hadn't tried yet. "Try using the Black Mage's power as your own!" Phantom's voice rang. "If you can learn to use it like your current magic, it should obey you, right?"

Luminous watched her charged the black magic above herself. Luminous took note of how slow she was. Probably because she wasn't used to fighting. He stood up and grabbed his staff and prepared to attack. He tried not to think, he tried not to let his mind wander off from its focus. He was shooting a gun with a blindfold on and hoping that it worked.

If not… then surely all hope would be lost…

"Sorry, Lania!" he said quickly before lashing out the strongest ability his darkness held towards the girl. It shot her back instantly, letting her chains dissolve as she laid motionless on the ground.

Luminous took a few deep breaths. He had just used one of the Black Mage's skills on his own. He had just used and attack that the Black Mage used…. He used the Black Mage's magic. He stopped and came to a realization.

The pain, the screams, even the black aura that was around his clothes and person… it was gone? …No… Not gone. It was weakened. Luminous could tell that he was back to his usual light state again, but it just seemed to be really quick. He looked up and saw Lania laying on the ground still "Lania!" he yelled as he tried to run up to her. Just as he reached the halfway point between them, he heard a laugh. A familiar laugh. "Black mage!" He yelled out loud.

The Black Mage appeared in a wisp behind Lania, slowly clapping his hands.

"You!" Luminous growled, "What did you do to Lania?!"

"Child of light…" The Black Mage started, "no… I suppose that would not be accurate these days… Child of the light AND the dark…"

Luminous grumbled a bit and kept a fierce stare.

"I suppose my powers are too good for the likes of you?" the Black Mage remarked, ignoring Luminous's question.

"Don't ignore my question!" Luminous barked out. "Why is she here?!"

The Black Mage waved his hand out, "A simple game I suppose."

"A game? What kind of game are you PLAYING at?" Luminous yelled at.

The Black mage wisped beyond Lania and in front of Luminous. Luminous had forgotten how tall the man was. He tried to stay calm, but couldn't help but flinch back a bit.

The Black Mage gave out a light chuckle. "Don't be scared now." He said calmly. With a quick yet gentle movement, the Black mage placed his hands over Luminous's eyes. He wanted to jump back. He wanted to move away, but Luminous found himself too scared to lift his feet. "Let me what has become of my precious darkness inside of you…"

Luminous felt the Black Mage's power enter his body. His body stiffened as a cold, empty feeling flooded through his veins. "Auughh!" Luminous yelled, hoping the Black mage would stop. The Black Mage continued until he found the spot where Luminous's body has kept the darkness inside of him. He let out a small grin as he tampered with it a bit, just to see what it was like.

Luminous felt the darkness flood over his body again, but it was much different this time. The darkness and the light were both in pain. He let out a loud scream, trying to move his arms up to the Black mage's hands to move them away, but he couldn't. His body was basically paralyzed. His scream continued as the Black Mage continued to peak at the darkness inside of Luminous. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he removed his hands. "My…" The Black Mage spoke in some value of a twisted happy tone, "Your darkness is quite the charmer. It's practically uncontrollable."

Luminous couldn't even look the mage in the eyes. He was still in a state of shock from what his body just went through.

"It's a shame you reject it so. You could be quiet the useful general." The Black Mage spoke on.

Luminous, finally regaining some value of his composure, looked up at the Black Mage, "Like hell I will!"

The Black Mage remained quiet and watched as Luminous stood up. "And who's to say that? As you just saw, I can drag your darkness out whenever I want. You're basically a wandering doll that I can toy around with at any point in time."

Luminous snapped at that statement. He twirled his staff and held the front end towards the Black Mage. "I am NOT your doll! "

The Black Mage laughed, "Are you trying to fight me, child of light and dark?"

Luminous remained quiet, letting his piercing glare do the talking for him.

The Black Mage shook his hand, "No…Now is not the time… For now…" The Black Mage looked at Lania, "Let us continue our little game until the time is right. You can have her…" he waved his hand over Lania's body. "I've no need for such a weak person." He said before laughing and vanishing in a dark wisp.

Luminous watched as the wind died down from the Black Mage's exit. He tried to process what just happened, but his mind couldn't grasp it. He could grasp one thing though. Lania was still on the ground in front of him. He ran up to her and kneeled down, shaking her gently. "Lania? Lania!" he yelled out.

Lania slowly opened her eyes. "Ahh…" She breathed out. She looked up and faced Luminous. She sat up and gave Luminous a sad look, "Luminous… you're not… I'm so sorry I…"

"It's okay, Lania." Luminous said quickly, "I'm just glad you're back to normal." Luminous sighed. Really, if he was honest, he was tired. Very tired. But he could always rest later.

Lania looked at Luminous with a bit of confusion herself, but was quick to accept her new found life again. She smiled and helped Luminous walk to their home.

The two walked inside to find the place a mess. Lania was ready to clean up right this instant, while Luminous barely made it to a nearby chair. He rested his head on the seat and fell into a deep sleep while sitting on the floor.

"Ah! Luminous, your robes are going to get dirty!" Lania whined a bit to herself. She smiled a bit looking at Luminous. She rarely ever got to see him sleep before, due to him falling asleep after her and waking up before her, but on those rare instances where she saw it, she was always happy to see him look so peaceful. "Just don't hurt your back." She said. She turned around and started to clean the house up while Luminous too his nap.

The next few weeks would pass by quickly. Luminous felt a lot of the work should have been difficult, but for some reason, it felt relaxing. He felt at ease. He was able to let a warm smile come across his face from time to time as he and Lania rebuilt their home as best as they could.

"Ah, Luminous, can you clean the kitchen up? I'm going to get some vegetables from the garden!" Lania yelled out to Luminous.

"Be careful!" Luminous warned, "I think I saw some monsters swarming around there the other day…"

"Oh I'll just take Penny, I'll be fine!" She grinned.

Luminous sighed. Lania would be quick with her job which meant he would have to be fast at his… And cleaning wasn't exactly his strong point. He jumped down to the kitchen and started to clean up the dishes. He remained quiet, trying to focus on where to put the clean dishes and hoping none of the shelving would break. "We have GOT to make new shelves for this kitchen, they can barely hold the pots…"

"Ahhh!" A scream was heard.

Luminous turned around. "Lania?!" He looked out the window, but he garden was out of view. "Damn it, I KNEW I should have gone out there with her!" he cursed himself as he ran outside. He ran around the house to find Lania in the garden on the ground…

…With Phantom pointing a sharp arrow from his own weapon at her.

Luminous jumped back a bit, using his own powers to teleport between Lania and Phantom. "Stop!"

Phantom's serious glare widened into a shock. "Hm?!" He set his weapon down quickly and regained his serious composure. "Luminous…." He started up carefully, "What is she doing here?"

Luminous was going to say "picking vegetables" but he knew that wasn't the answer Phantom was looking for… No… he wanted to know why she was alive. Phantom had actually seen her dead himself. Luminous had to accept that Phantom had all right to feel a bit shocked and threatened by Lania's sudden reappearance. "Look…" Luminous started, "I can explain, but I do ask that we step over to the side a bit. That's all I am going to ask…"

Phantom looked at luminous then down at Lania. He turned around and walked over to the opposite side of the house. "I'll be over here then…"

Luminous took a sigh. That was way too close. He had completely forgotten to give Phantom and update on what happened and Lania almost had to pay for it. Luminous gave a soft look to Lania, "Don't worry, I'll deal with that idiot. You just wait right here, okay?"

Lania gave a quiet nod.

Luminous walked over to Phantom and gave a sharp glare. "Was it really needed to jump to an attack like that? She's just a girl."

"Considering she's alive when I saw her dead, I think there might be reason to believe there is some wicked work at hand." Phantom started up. He was no stranger to death and he knew that no one simply "came back". That wasn't how it worked.

Luminous sighed. Phantom was going to think he was crazy for this, but he really didn't have any other choice beyond it. He explained the story of Lania and the Black Mage to Phantom, explaining that the Black mage was playing some kind of game with Luminous and his darkness, with Lania being some kind of tool and prize in it.

"Are you MAD!?" Phantom remarked loudly. "You're going to TRUST the black mage just GAVE you her?!"

Luminous remained quiet. Maybe he was going mad. Maybe the darkness in him had a strange grasp on him to where he felt like he could get away with trusting the Black Mage like that.

"You just…. You…." Phantom was at a loss for words. Luminous, of all people, had been foolish enough to fall for one of the Black Mage's tricks. Phantom was sure this was a trick. He was sure. "She could easily back stab you and have you dead in five seconds!"

"I don't care." Luminous stated, "I made up my mind a few weeks ago and this has been my choice since then."

Phantom looked at Luminous, "I didn't realize it was so EASY to earn your trust!" Phantom barked. He almost felt hurt by this. Trust shouldn't be something that you hand out like that.

"Say what you want, Phantom." Luminous calmly stated, "You would have chosen the same path if he brought Aria back."

"Don't you dare bring Aria into this, you lowly coward." Phantom growled with anger. "Her name doesn't deserve to be spoken by anyone that trusts the Black Mage at all."

Luminous stayed quiet. Phantom sure was being stubborn about this, He wasn't too shocked, but he didn't like the scene Phantom was making. "Phantom, can you keep it down? I would prefer it if Lania DIDN'T hear this?"

"Why?" Phantom remarked, "So the Black mage can just THINK you're eating this whole 'win her back' thing? I'll let you know, I'm not fool, Luminous! I know a trap when I see one!"

Luminous growled a bit. He turned and faced Phantom while slamming his hand against his shoulder forcefully. His right eye had turned red and began glowing brightly, leaving a dark shadow around his face. "Do not make me hurt you, Phantom. I will."

Phantom looked at Luminous's eye. It was glowing in a manner similar to the Black Mage's eyes himself. "Lu-Luminous… what on earth….?"

Luminous removed his hand and calmed down a bit, letting his eye stop glowing, but still remaining red. "It's something else I picked up that day."

Phantom looked at Luminous's eye. Usually one eye being red wasn't a good sign, but it seemed like Luminous forced it out himself.

"The Black mage sent Lania after me…" Luminous said quietly. "I was one step away from losing control and possibly killing Lania again, when I just decided to take your advice and used the Black Mage's powers as if it were my own magic." Luminous looked Phantom dead in the eyes. "So I had thought that maybe you would be a bit more open to this story, but I guess a spoiled child is always spoiled."

Phantom huffed, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Luminous shook his head, "Figure it out yourself. I'm going to help Lania."

Phantom stopped Luminous after his second step, "Oohhohoho no. No you don't. You gained control over your darkness and never told me!" Phantom whined, "I've been studying for weeks!"

Luminous raised a brow, "And you're only just now coming down?"

"Gaston said it was this or training."

"Of course." Luminous rolled his eyes. "Look, whether I am crazy or not isn't a problem right now. My main concern is just to help Lania get back on her feet and then continue my training."

"Continue?" Phantom asked.

Luminous tapped his chest a bit, "I know…I can tell… this darkness still has a chance of going out of control. It's not a magic one is supposed to fully control. But now that I know how to control it, I just have to keep my chances as low as possible."

Phantom looked at Luminous. The man was being completely serious about everything. Including the girl. He looked over at her. She LOOKED innocent, but he… he couldn't feel right about her. And as much as he hated to admit it, Luminous had a point. If Aria had been brought back, Phantom probably would have taken her back in a heartbeat. He sighed. "Fine." Phantom said, giving in, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to believe she was played like a trophy."

Luminous glared. Not exact a nice comparison, but an accurate one.

Phantom walked up to Lania himself first, "I do apologize." He said, offering his hand to help her stand up, "It seems your journey has been rather difficult itself. I am sorry if I frightened you with my actions." Phantom held his hand up with a card and turned it into a dazzling rose. "Please take this as a token of my apology."

Lania's eyes glistened at the rose, "Oh wow, it's pretty!" She remarked while taking it into her hands. The rose was really glowing!

Phantom gave a small grin at the joy of the girl but was given a nice hit on the back of the head a mere moments afterwards. "Don't you dare give her roses!"

"What?! It was an APOLOGY gift."

"I don't CARE Phantom, make it a tulip or something! Not a ROSE!" Luminous yelled back.

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE TULIPS!" Phantom retorted. "WHO'S EVER HEARD OF A WOMAN LIKING TULIPS ANYWAY?!"

"They like flowers FINE, Phantom!" Luminous continued. Lania giggled a bit. Luminous was acting kind of silly with Phantom. It was almost another one of those rare gem moments.

"It's pretty. Thank you… Uhh… Phantom?" Lania smiled shyly.

"Why thank you!" Phantom remarked, "I'm glad to see some appreciate the value in a gift." He growled at Luminous.

"I get the value, I just don't like what you GAVE her." Luminous remarked back.

Lania laughed a bit. "Well, you two can stay out here. I'm going to prep dinner!" Lania smiled. "Will you be staying with us Mr. Phantom?"

Phantom laughed, "Probably not. I'm not accustom to staying in one place for too long. I'll probably be gone in the next half hour."

"Good, we don't need spoiled brat manners at the table anyway." Luminous added in.

Phantom sneered at Luminous while Lania left the two alone. She really wondered about Phantom and what kind of relationship he shared with Luminous. He seemed like a friend, but at the same time… Oh well, she would just ask at dinner.

Meanwhile, Phantom and Luminous sat outside of the house and watch Lania leave. Luminous turned head to Phantom once Lania was out of view. "You're here for less than five minutes and you already managed to piss me off."

"Piss you off?! You're the one that never informed me of anything!" Phantom remarked back.

"Well you're not exact easy to find in the first place." Luminous added back. Phantom found himself unable to argue with that. It was sort of his thing to remain hidden.

"Well…" Phantom rubbed the back of his neck, "So the Black Mage really is back…"

Luminous sighed , "Seems so… apparently he wants to keep testing my patience as far as his dark magic goes. He thinks it's some kind of game"

"Well I wouldn't exactly see him having much of a normal definition for a game anyway…" Phantom rolled his eyes.

"So basically I'm his lab rat now. " Luminous sighed. "Didn't he test this on others before?"

"Yes, but they all happened to be in the support and defensive mage group similar to Freud. I think you're the first offensive mage he has ever affected, and what's more is your light attribute."

"It's the exact opposite of his." Luminous finished it off. "Well, I just have to plan ahead and I should be good."

Phantom thought a bit to himself. "Plan ahead?" How would that be possible? No one could predict how the Black Mage would work. All Luminous could do is build a bit of support and…

Support! That's it! Phantom jumped up, "I got it!"

Luminous looked at Phantom , "Oh this should be good."

Phantom lowered himself in defeat a bit. "Hey, this is a good idea… Luminous… Join the Maple Alliance with me!"

"The what?" Luminous asked.

"Aria's niece has formed the largest alliance throughout the entire world. There's thousands of fighters involved in this. Some are a bit weaker, some are stronger, but they have so many people in it that we could easily win with a bit of skill!" he clenched his hands into fist. "You could help teach the mages! ….Or at least … uhh…" Phantom began to think again, "….Freud's… little… mini version…self. Oh I forget his name."

"You forget everyone's name." Luminous remarked unamused. "What about him?"

"Well, he's quiet young and in need of a good teacher.. I'm sure he would LOVE meeting another mage!"

Luminous rubbed his neck a bit. "I dunno… Sounds a little too risky for me. I may not have a high chance of losing myself any more, but it is still there… What if I go dark there? Will they even accept me like this?"

"Oh trust me, Aria's niece has a very similar heart to her own. She'll take you in with open arms!" Phantom the rubbed his chin, "I hear her tactician is a bit of a bother for everything though."

"Well at least someone can hold the fort down." Luminous remarked. He thought over everything for a bit. Really, he couldn't find a good reason to say no. He was a hero and he had the job of wrapping his mission up from years ago. "Fine." Luminous said, "If you can get them to accept me in, I'm in."

Phantom smiled, "Perfect! It's almost like we're going to be a whole team again!" Phantom cheered.

"Almost a whole… wait, who all is there?"

Phantom smiled, "Well, I'm there. Mini Freud is there too… Aran is there, but they don't have their memories and… yeah… oh and Mercedes is there too!"

Luminous rubbed his eyes with one hand. "It sounds like we just got even more dysfunctional than before."

"Oh don't worry, everything should work itself out, right?" Phantom smiled, "We just have to trust each other. We've been given a second chance at it and we can do it right this time."

Luminous looked at Phantom, "Well I guess if I can trust you, I can trust anyone…"

Phantom laughed. "Alright, I guess I'll jump over to Ereve and filled Cygnus in on what's going on. I'll be back with news in three days Luminous."

Luminous nodded. He watched as Phantom vanished in his usual flashy show of cards and left the area quiet. "That guy…" Luminous remarked. Three hundred years ago, Luminous would have never thought he would be working with Phantom like this, but he supposed time and fate just had a few things planned for him that he wouldn't ever expect.

Phantom appeared on his ship. The wind blow marvelously, giving Phantom a good feeling about the future. "Aria… Freud…" He told himself, "I really wish you two could be a part of this… No… you ARE a part of it." He said as he stepped down, "Just watch over this and hope I don't make too many mistakes. It's a little new, being that dependable guy." He chuckled a bit before stepping into his cabin, having his ship head straight for Ereve.


End file.
